GE Sells a Unit for $3.8 B

Elena
14 Sep, 2006
New York City

Once the transaction is completed, GE will receive a 10% ownership stake in the combined company and hold $400 million of notes. Wayne Hewett, who is in charge of the Advanced Materials business for GE, will serve as president and CEO of the new business.

[R]8:00AM General Electric decided to sell GE Advanced Materials unit.[/R]
General Electric ((GE)) announced Thursday it had decided to sell its GE Advanced Materials (Silicones & Quartz) unit to private equity firm Apollo Management for $3.8 billion in cash and securities. The unit supplies silicone-based products, silanes, sealants, urethane additives and adhesives; and high-purity fused quartz and ceramics materials. The deal is expected to close by the end of the current year.

Once the transaction is completed, GE will receive a 10% ownership stake in the combined company and hold $400 million of notes. GE is planning to use the estimated $2 billion in proceeds from the deal to support financially growth and restructuring in its industrial businesses. Wayne Hewett, who is in charge of the Advanced Materials business for GE, will serve as president and CEO of the new business.


[R]7:30AM Japanese commodities and U.S. markets lead Asia higher[/R]
Asian markets finished mostly higher on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 Average finished the day 1.22% higher at 15942.39. In Japan, stocks finished higher as commodity shares rebounded with trading houses and oil companies like Mitsubishi and refiner Show Shell Sekiyu gaining prominently. Mitsubishi, which has extensive energy and commodity interests, advanced 4.2% while Showa Shell Sekiyu ended trading 3.2% higher. Canon advanced 1.4% as a local media reported that the camera maker net profit is expected to climb 16% in the current fiscal year.

South Korea's Kospi Index jumped 1.92% to 1358.75. Stocks in Seoul finished higher, mainly due to large program buying toward the end of the session as well as gains on U.S. markets. Technology shares gained, following overnight gains on U.S. markets. LG.Philips LCD posted the biggest gain, up 4.6%, followed by LG Electronics rising 3.2% and Samsung Electro-Mechanics gaining 2.6%.

The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.02% to close at 1689.69 and Australia S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.06% to 5070.40. Resource large-caps BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto in Australia helped the stock market rise as they continued to recover after a selloff earlier in the week. BHP gained 2.2% and Rio Tinto advanced 0.9%.

Bucking the upward trend, Hong Kong Hang Seng Index ended 0.15% lower at 17183.45 and Taipei lost 0.99% to close at 6598.87. Shares in Hong Kong closed slightly lower as investors raised cash for some new listings, causing a strong two-day rally to cease. In Taiwan, stocks were led lower by technology firms.


[R]6:30AM European markets advance Thursday due to oil and retailers.[/R]
European stocks were higher on Thursday. The U.K. FTSE 100 index advanced 0.3% to 5,912, The German DAX Xetra 30 index rose 0.1% to 5,914, the French CAC-40 index increased 0.3% to 5,150. The large-cap oil companies advanced with BP gaining 1.3% and Total up 0.7%. Neste Oil, the Finnish refiner, advanced 1.3%.

Richemont jumped 2.4% as total sales for the five months ended in August advanced 16%, driven by growth across all its divisions and geographical regions. On the other hand, French supermarket operator Groupe Casino declined 1.9% after reporting first-half net income surged 28% as sales rose 17%. British retailer Kingfisher gained 3.4% after it said first-half net income was unchanged, but total retail sales climbed 6.6%.

Oil advanced for a second day after U.S. stockpiles declined more than expected and the State Department demanded sanctions on Iran. Crude oil for October delivery rose as much as 68 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $64.65 a barrel. Gold opened Thursday at a bid price of $588.70 a troy ounce, up from $587.00 late Wednesday.

The U.S. dollar was mostly lower against other major currencies in European trading Thursday morning. The euro bought $1.2700, up from $1.2692 late Wednesday in New York. The British pound traded at $1.8813, up from $1.8763. The dollar bought 117.71 Japanese yen, up from 117.56.