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TheMoodieReport.com: "Has BAA sparked General Electric's interest? � 17/04/06
Source: The Daily Telegraph
By Martin Moodie
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US. American industrial giant General Electric Co may enter the takeover race for UK airports company BAA, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The UK newspaper claimed that 'government sources' told it that although General Electric was not involved initially in a consortium led by Goldman Sachs which had made a �9.4 billion informal approach (870p a share) on 30 March, they expected it to become involved. The report claimed also that American International Group (AIG), the world's largest insurer, has joined the Goldman Sachs-led consortium.

The other parties it claimed are two Canadian pension funds � Borealis and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

Yesterday BAA issued a statement admitting the Goldman Sachs approach but dismissing it as not reflecting the company�s true value. Earlier BAA had similarly rejected a formal takeover offer of 810p a share from a consortium led by Spanish logistics group Ferrovial, which valued the company at �8.75 billion.

General Electric refused to comment to the newspaper on the report. But an acquisition of BAA would fit comfortably within its scope. On 13 April it unveiled record first-quarter earnings of US$4.0 billion on revenues of US$37.8 billion.

Its products range from jet engines to power generation, financial services to plastics, and medical imaging to news and information. General Electric was recently named �World's Most Admired Company' in Fortune magazine's annual poll of executives.

The Daily Telegraph said that General Electric said last week when discussing its first-quarter performance that it was interested in"