Brooke Sutherland, Columnist

GE Should Engage With Everyone on Asset Sales

Divesting the company’s jet-leasing unit to Apollo or another buyer would aid CEO Larry Culp’s turnaround.

January 4, 2019 at 11:25 PM UTC

Brooke Sutherland is Bloomberg News' Boston bureau chief and writes the Industrial Strength Newsletter. She was previously a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals and industrial companies and an M&A reporter for Bloomberg News.

Going once, going twice ... — Going once, going twice ...
Photographer: Mary Turner/Bloomberg

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New General Electric Co. CEO Larry Culp could help himself out by accelerating asset sales.

Shares of the troubled industrial conglomerate climbed in late trading on Friday after Bloomberg News reported Apollo Global Management was considering a bid for the company’s GE Capital Aviation Services jet-leasing business. A deal, if one were to happen, would underscore Culp’s willingness to do whatever is necessary to mitigate GE’s bloated debt load and put the company on the path to a healthier future. Former CEO John Flannery had acknowledged the “optionality” offered by the GECAS business, considered the crown jewel of its remaining finance assets, but he didn’t include it in the breakup plan he unveiled in June and arguably dilly-dallied around an asset sale that could make a real difference for the company.