Its Transportation And Healthcare IT Businesses Are Being Explored To Be Divested By GE: Sources


10/28/2017



As General Electric Co seeks to reshape its portfolio under new Chief Executive John Flannery, the company is exploring the opportunities for divesting its transportation and healthcare information technology businesses, according to the media which reported this based on information from people believed to be familiar with the matter
 
The sources further reportedly said that the company has set an aim of shedding more than $20 billion worth of assets and such a move of divesting would help GE to meet more than half of its stated goal of shedding. Reports further said that there is no certainty that GE will proceed with these divestitures.
 
There were no comments available from GE and the sources parting with the information asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential.
 
After Honeywell International Inc announced earlier this month it would part with some of its businesses by creating two new publicly listed companies the move would make GE the latest U.S. industrial conglomerate to go ahead with asset divestitures.
 
Also acting as a catalyst for change was Ed Garden, a founding partner at activist investor Trian Fund Management who was recently given a board seat at GE.
 
After what Flannery earlier this month called horrible results in the third quarter, GE is looking to bounce back. Other businesses that “drain investment and management resources without the prospect for a substantial reward” are holding back GE’s strong businesses which are generating money for the company, he has argued.
 
Engaged in the manufacturing of freight and passenger trains, marine diesel engines and mining equipment, among other products, GE’s transportation business had managed to generate revenue of $4.7 billion in 2016.
 
On the other hand, assisting in electronic medical records, healthcare workforce management, and hospital revenue cycle management is GE’s healthcare information technology business, which would likely have to be broken up into separate chunks in the event of a sale. API Healthcare, which it acquired in 2014, and Centricity EMR are among some of the better known brands of this division of GE.
 
With revenue last year of $18.3 billion and spanning from magnetic imaging, medical diagnostics to drug discovery, this business is part of GE’s sprawling healthcare business.
 
By the way of shedding plastics, NBCUniversal and most of its GE Capital business, GE has taken several actions to prune its portfolio over the years. Its oilfield services business and Baker Hughes have also been combined by the company.
 
Last week, GE said it would generate only about $7 billion in cash from operations, down from $12 billion to $14 billion it had forecast earlier as the company cut its profit forecast for the full year to $1.05 to $1.10 a share, from $1.60 to $1.70 previously. It left its dividend unchanged.
 
said it would generate only about $7 billion in cash from operations, down from $12 billion to $14 billion it had forecast earlier were attributed to higher-than-expected restructuring costs, goodwill impairment and weak performance in GE’s power and oil and gas businesses.
 
(Source:www.reuters.com)