French President François Hollande is meeting Monday with top executives from General Electric and Siemens, after the government slammed the brakes on the sale of Alstom SA's energy assets, reports The Wall Street Journal.
GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt met with Mr. Hollande and French economy minister Arnaud Montebourg Monday morning after an unexpected battle for Alstom's operations broke out over the weekend.
"The dialogue was open, friendly and productive," Mr. Immelt said afterward in a written statement. "It was important to hear in person President Hollande's perspective and to discuss our plans, our successful track record of investing in France, and our long-term commitment to the country.
Mr. Hollande's meeting with Siemens chief executive Joe Kaeser will come later Monday. The president is also scheduled to meet Martin Bouygues, chief executive and chairman of Bouygues SA, Alstom's largest shareholder.
The French government has since last Friday been seeking to stall GE's proposed purchase, looking for alternatives to selling off a major asset it deems to be strategic to an American company.
"French companies aren't prey," Mr. Montebourg said on French radio station RTL on Monday morning. "We want to come out of this stronger because we can take advantage of this situation, by creating conditions to have a world leader, a champion made in France."
Alstom said Sunday it was reviewing strategic options for its future and would make an announcement by Wednesday.
Mr. Montebourg said France didn't have a preferred solution. "We will know that when we have discussed with the two executives," he said.
He noted, however, that Siemens has proposed creating two world leaders, a German one in energy and a French one in transportation. Mr. Montebourg said that GE's offer for Alstom's energy business was problematic because the bulk of Alstom's business would be run from Connecticut.
"This is a situation that raises a number of questions for us," said Mr. Montebourg.
Mr. Montebourg, an outspoken minister who has repeatedly butted heads with corporate chieftains, argues the government has a duty to meddle in the affairs of companies, even when the state has no ownership stake, in a bid to preserve jobs.
Read more of this report from The Wall Street Journal.