This deal lifts GE and ABB

Article Excerpt

GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. $24 (New York symbol GE; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 8.7 billion; Market cap: $208.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ge.com) is another target of activist investor Nelson Peltz; his Trian Partners (see left) owns 1% of GE. As with Procter, Trian wants GE to sell slowgrowing businesses and cut costs. Partly due that pressure, GE has now agreed to sell its industrial solutions business for $2.6 billion. That business makes electrical- distribution equipment such as circuit breakers, switches and backup power systems. Its clients include manufacturers, hospitals and data centres. The buyer is ABB LTD., ADRs $25 (New York symbol ABB; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 2.1 billion; Market cap: $52.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.abb.com). Based in Switzerland, it makes transformers, transmission systems and circuit breakers for electrical utilities. ABB also produces automation systems and robotics for…