General Electric selling its core business | Calamatta Cuschieri

Markets roundup, Brexit news and GE to sell its base business

General Electric Company announced it signed an agreement to sell its LED and traditional lighting solutions business Current to American Industrial Partners
General Electric Company announced it signed an agreement to sell its LED and traditional lighting solutions business Current to American Industrial Partners

Roundup

European equities closed in the red on Tuesday as investors shift their focus to key political events both on the continent and overseas. In the United States, voting in the crucial midterms is underway, with Democrats expected to flip the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, in Brexit developments, British Prime Minister Theresa May said that a Brexit agreement between Brussels and London is 95% complete.

The DAX lost 0.09% as E.ON dipped 1.78%, followed closely by Covestro sliding over 1%. Meanwhile, the CAC 40 fell 0.41%, led lower by Atos as the IT Corporation stumbled 1.71%. In London, the FTSE 100 slumped 0.89%; Morrisons Supermarkets plunged 4.46% after the company reported a slowdown in third-quarter sales.

Brexit

European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said that the United Kingdom has to make choices in order to reach a Brexit deal with Brussels. Speaking at a press conference with Slovakian Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, Barnier pointed out that Brussels is ready to consider changes to the Irish backstop, but a genuine agreement on the issue has to be achieved.

"We’re willing to consider improvements to the backstop but we need to reach an agreement for this backstop and this backstop must be a genuine backstop. Backstop means backstop. And a backstop cannot have a time-limit," Barnier stressed. "Today we’re not there yet. The clock is still ticking and we will continue the work. Choices have to be made on the British side to finalize this deal”, he added.

Earlier today, UK Primer Minister Theresa May said that the Brexit agreement is "95% complete," adding that she feels optimistic a deal will be reached on the Irish backstop issue.

General Electric selling its base business

General Electric Company announced it signed an agreement to sell its LED and traditional lighting solutions business Current to American Industrial Partners (AIP) for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2019, after receiving necessary regulatory approval.

"American Industrial Partners would be a great home for Current moving forward. The firm’s deep expertise in operations and engineering, combined with its highly successful track record of industrial business investments, would help us accelerate Current’s growth," Current CEO Maryrose Sylvester stated. "We look forward to partnering with the AIP team to further establish Current as a leader in the rapidly growing IoT lighting space."

Eric Baroyan, a partner of AIP, said that the company is looking forward to "building upon Current’s extensive product portfolio and leading digital solutions that are helping customers gain energy savings and greater insights into their environment through a sophisticated intelligent ecosystem platform." AIP is a New York-based private equity firm that deals with buying, improving and growing industrial businesses.

 

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