Original news was published on 27 May, 2014

In the latest round of negotiations in GE’s US$17 billion bid to buy out French energy and transportation company Alstom, GE has pledged to keep the power-equipment maker’s nuclear operations in France.

“We will answer the government’s legitimate demands that the nuclear unit remain French, that intellectual property stay French and that exports be protected,” Clara Gaymard, GE’s local chief, said in a radio interview.

The French government is concerned about the deal that would see a foreign enterprise take over one of iats most important companies. About two weeks ago, a decree was signed that requires government approval for foreign investments deemed critical for national security, such as energy, equipment, plants and transportation.

“This decree should have been done a long time ago,” Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg said in a press conference in Paris. “You can’t ask countries to give up their strategic interests.”

Germany, Italy and Spain have similar laws in effect, Montebourg said.

GE also agreed to the government’s request to extend the closing of the transaction by three weeks, which moved the date from June 2 to June 23.

Meanwhile, Siemens, a German rival, is expected to submit a formal bid for Alstom this week. Montebourg has said he’d prefer Siemens, Europe’s largest engineering company, over U.S.-based GE.

*NEWS SOURCE