Alstom chief confident GE deal will get EU approval

[June 30, 2015]  PARIS (Reuters) - The chief executive of French engineering group Alstom SA is confident the planned sale of the group's power business to General Electric Co will win European Union approval, he was quoted saying in a newspaper interview.

"I hope that we are now in the final leg and I am confident ... My position is very clear. I do not see why Plan A would not work out," Patrick Kron told Le Figaro, when asked if he has any plan B should Brussels block the deal. GE's planned 12.4 billion euros ($14 billion) purchase of Alstom's power equipment business has sparked regulatory worries that it would harm competition. The Commission is concerned the takeover would leave just two gas turbine companies in Europe, with GE competing with Germany's Siemens. Kron said Alstom's shareholders meeting on June 30 will be an occasion to defend and explain a project he was "proud of". (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by David Holmes) [© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.