Siemens sets Alstom bid date

FRANCE: Siemens has said that it will make an official move to take over Alstom's power business, including its wind division, on 16 June.

There had been rumours that the German manufacturer has been poised to make an offer sooner, but a move by GE to extend the deadline for Alstom to respond to its competing offer appears to have eased the pressure on Siemens.

Earlier this week, sources told the German press that Siemens was looking to secure more information from Alstom before it would place a bid for the company's power assets.

Siemens stepped in to counter a bid for the power business made by GE in April after the French government expressed its opposition to the terms of the takeover.

Unlike the GE deal, which is purely cash based, Siemens has proposed transferring part of its rail business to the French manufacturer along with cash in exchange for taking over the energy business.

The Siemens deal would include less than EUR 7 million in cash, according to Reuters, compared with GE's offer of EUR 12.35 billion.

On Tuesday, executives from both Siemens and GE appeared before a French parliamentary hearing to argue the merits of their rival proposals.

Following a meeting with GE chief executive Jeff Immelt, French president Francois Hollande said that the terms of the GE offer have been improved, notably in relation to jobs.