16 April 2007 – Chief executive of General Electric, Jeff Immelt, has made his first public comments on the sale process the US giant is undertaking with its plastics business.
He said the company aims to close the sale of GE Plastics in the third quarter, according to a report by news agency Reuters.
“The plastics transaction is on track. Lots of interest in this business,” Immelt said in a conference call with analysts.
“We expect a first round of bids soon,” he continued. “We really are targeting an announcement of a definitive agreement in the second quarter, close [the agreement] in the third quarter. I'm pretty optimistic about how this process is going and the outlook for our plastics business overall in terms of doing this disposition [sale].”
Reuters said that first round bids are due this week. Analysts have said the unit could fetch up to $10bn, it reported.
Companies linked with a possible bid for GE Plastics include BASF, Dow Chemical and Sabic, along with private equity groups (PRW.com 27 March).
Immelt was speaking to analysts in regard to the GE group’s first quarter financial results. The plastics business saw profits fall by 46% from $225m in the first quarter of 2006 to $121m in the recent quarter, while revenues slipped 3% to $1.598bn.
