GE sells $1B portfolio of energy assets

Dive Brief:

GE has struck a deal to offload about 20 energy investments valued at approximately $1 billion, including debt, in a sale to Apollo Global Management announced Monday.
GE has struggled of late and its share price hit nine-year lows in September. The company responded by installing a new CEO, Lawrence Culp, the former chief of manufacturer Danaher.
The most recent sale of energy assets includes investments in renewable energy, contracted gas-fired generation and midstream energy infrastructure assets, primarily located in the United States.

Dive Insight:

The announcement by GE and Apollo is a sign the industrial giant is still looking for ways to cut costs and reduce debt, and may signal renewed interest in streamlining the company now that Culp is at the helm.

The company removed John Flannery as chairman and CEO last week. Flannery had only been on the job a year, but CNBC reported the board had grown frustrated at the slow changes.

The new equity portfolio sale includes approximately 20 energy investments, and GE and Apollo will "seek to form an ongoing relationship with respect to select future new energy infrastructure investments," according to GE's statement.

Details of the sale were not disclosed; the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

Apollo was the "ideal buyer" due to the level of "experience managing complex alternative investments," Alec Burger, president of GE Capital, said in a statement.

Earlier this year, GE announced a plan to streamline its focus to a trio of core areas: renewables, power and aviation.

The company said the renewables business will focus primarily on wind energy, on and offshore, along with hydroelectricity. GE's power business will include its gas turbine business, power services and other segments.

While renewables have been growing rapidly, GE still believes gas turbines are the key to the long-term energy mix, though it concedes the market may see some declines. GE currently has an installed base of 7,000 turbines underpinning a contractual services business.