Brooke Sutherland, Columnist

GE Rips Off the Band-Aid at Baker Hughes

A writedown was likely inevitable for GE’s stake in the venture. Better to just get it over with than wait for an improvement that could take years.

September 10, 2019 at 10:35 PM UTC

By Brooke Sutherland

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.

GE goes for elective surgery.
Photographer: Hulton Archive/Hulton Archive

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At least one writedown is coming when General Electric Co. reports its third-quarter earnings results next month.

The struggling industrial giant is selling off another chunk of its stake in Baker Hughes as CEO Larry Culp scrounges up more cash to fund his turnaround strategy. GE will offer 105 million class A shares in a secondary offering (the underwriters have the option to purchase up to an additional 15.75 million), while Baker Hughes will buy back $250 million worth of class B stock, according to an announcement after the close of trading on Tuesday.