General Electric is preparing to sell or divest its appliances unit in a move that could raise some $7bn and sever its century-long links with one of its oldest businesses, reports the FT. The WSJ says GE has hired Goldman Sachs to run an auction for the appliances unit, which could fetch $5bn-$8bn. Because the unit is now a relatively small part of GE, however, a sale of the unit might not satisfy investors who are pressing CEO Jeffrey Immelt to improve GE’s sluggish performance. Possible buyers for the division include appliance makers BSH Bosch & Siemens Hausgeräte of Germany and Haier Group of China, bankers said, adding that buy-out firms and GE’s Mexican partner, Controladora Mabe, could also be interested.

This entry was posted by Gwen Robinson on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 5:41 and is filed under Capital markets, M&A, People. Tagged with ge. Edit this entry.