Siemens lifts Alstom energy bid to $19.9 bn, defying GE.

France will buy a 20% stake in Alstom SA, saying that General Electric Co. (GE)will only be allowed to buy the French engineering company’s energy assets with the state's involvement.

'It's prerequisite that France takes 20% of the capital,' Arnaud Montebourg, economy minister of France, said in Paris recently. 'If that's not realized, GE's bid will be blocked.'

The move may end a takeover battle between GE and Siemens AG for Alstom's energy assets. Both GE chief executive officer Jeffrey Immelt and Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser met several times with the government officials, who have pushed for more guarantees on jobs and France's energy independence since GE unveiled its bid on 30 April. Among concessions the US company has made is the addition of 1,000 local industrial jobs.

'The state has succeeded in keeping Alstom French,' Montebourg said recently. GE declined comment on whether it’ll accept France's demands.

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