GE Would Keep Alstom Nuclear Unit in France, Gaymard Says

General Electric Co., seeking France’s approval for its $17 billion bid to buy Alstom SA’s energy division, pledged to keep the power-equipment maker’s nuclear operations in the country.

“We will answer the government’s legitimate demands that the nuclear unit remain French, that intellectual property stay French and that exports be protected,” Clara Gaymard, GE’s local chief, said May 24 in a radio interview. The U.S. company’s offer, which excludes Alstom’s transport business, “is good for France,” she said.