GE’s next move is to spin off health-care business
Investmark Advisory Group Principal Michael Lee on General Electric's efforts to turn the company around.
General Electric’s next move will be to spin off its health-care business and unload its ownership in oil-services company Baker Hughes, according to Dow Jones.
The moves are the conclusion of a yearlong strategic review by CEO John Flannery.
The CEO is trying to sell $20 billion worth of assets by the end of next year.
Last month, GE agreed to sell its railroad division in a complex deal worth $11 billion.
The onetime industrial bellwether has slashed its dividend and has already set plans to shed numerous businesses.
Its shares have tumbled by half in the past year, erasing more than $100 billion in wealth.
The final plan, expected to be presented to investors on Tuesday, focuses GE around its power, aviation and renewable-energy businesses, according to Dow Jones.
These units accounted for more than half of GE's $122 billion in revenue last year.
The company will likely reduce its dividend payout following the spinoff of its health business, according to people familiar.
The plan is expected to be released on the same day the company will be removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average after more than a century in the blue-chip index.
GE shares closed Monday at $12.75.
Sales and profits have been rising at the health-care unit, which accounted for about 16% of companywide sales, or $19 billion, last year.
GE plans to sell 20% of the division, the people said, and later distribute the remainder to its existing shareholders.
GE expects to exit its investment in Baker Hughes over the next two to three years.