The French government announced Tuesday that US industrial conglomerate General Electric will pay €50 million ($57 million) after falling short of its goal of creating 1,000 new jobs in the country.
The maker of France's iconic TGV trains Alstom and German industrial leader Siemens signed on Friday an agreement on creating a global leader in the rail industry.
French rail giant Alstom on Saturday said it had inked a deal to supply three Indian companies running metro train services in Mumbai, Jaipur and Chennai.
The maker of France's TGV trains announced Tuesday a "merger of equals" with German industrial leader Siemens in a giant and politically tricky deal to create a new European rail champion.
The French government has confirmed that it will order 15 high-speed TGV trains in a bid to prevent the historic Alstom train-building plant from closing.
The French government is squaring up for a battle with engineering giants Alstom, which insists the historic factory where the first TGV trains were built must close down.
EU competition regulators launched Monday a probe into US group General Electric's planned €12.4-billion ($14.1-billion) acquisition of the energy business of French rival Alstom.
Polish prosecutors on Tuesday said they have charged five people in a corruption case involving transport contracts won by Alstom, just days after the United States fined the French industrial giant a record penalty for bribery.
French industrial giant Alstom will plead guilty and pay a record $772.3 million penalty in a wide-ranging foreign bribery case, the US Justice Department announced on Monday.
French industrial giant Alstom has agreed to pay $700 million to settle US corruption charges related to the paying of bribes, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
The French government gave its stamp of approval on Wednesday for the sale of Alstom's energy arm to US group General Electric, a move that seemed unlikely earlier in the year.
General Electric on Thursday said the head of its China business will transfer to France to lead the US company's proposed buyout of Alstom's energy businesses.
Unpopular French president François Hollande and his strugglign Socialist government won praise on Monday for the tough stance they have taken towards General Electric's bid for French engineering giant Alstom and for not bowing to rail strikers.
The French government were claiming victory on Sunday after clinching a deal to become the main shareholder in Alstom. That move will pave the way for General Electric to buy the French group's energy arm, which had seemed unlikely back in April.
The board of directors of French power-to-rail group Alstom on Saturday unanimously approved US conglomerate General Electric's €12.35 billion ($16.8 billion) bid to acquire its energy business.
France stepped firmly into the battle over Alstom on Friday, saying it favoured General Electric's €12.35 billion ($16.8 billion) bid and would take a 20 percent stake in the French industrial jewel.
The battle for French engineering giant Alstom neared the finish line on Friday with rivals General Electric and Siemens, Mitsubishi both sweetening their offers in a bid to convince the President François Hollande and the government.
The battle to take control of Alstom intensified on Tuesday, with Siemens and Mitsubishi seeking to thwart a bid by GE by inviting the French state to take a stake in the energy and rail company. GE says it will not enter a bidding war.
Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is offering to buy a 10 percent stake in Alstom, a report said Sunday, as it seeks to sweeten a joint bid with Siemens to acquire some of the French firm's energy assets.
Japanese engineering giant Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has joined the international battle to buy the massive energy operation of French group Altsom. The struggle to own Alstom has prompted nationalist opposition in France.
A takeover battle for parts of French power and rail group Alstom heated up on Wednesday, with US group General Electric promising to create 1,000 jobs in France, a source close to the matter said.
US giant General Electric has bowed to a request from the French government to extend the deadline on its offer to buy Alstom's energy arm. Paris appears to be still holding out for German group Siemens to improve its own offer.
The leading US business group on Friday called France protectionist, after Paris asserted its right to veto any foreign takeover of key French companies.
The European Commission warned France on Thursday against resorting to protectionism after Paris unveiled new measures to head off hostile foreign bids for key companies.
The French government will have a greater say over investments from abroad after granting itself new powers to veto takeover bids from foreign companies. The move comes just as US giant General Electric is battling to take over French group Alstom.
