GE may divest healthcare business unit; to focus more on heavy-duty machinery
An article reported that General Electric (GE) may sell its healthcare business unit, which is one of its largest businesses with sales valued at USD 17.6 billion in 2015. According to GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, the company wants to focus on the heavy-duty machinery. An analyst from RBC Capital Markets said, “GE’s new focus could put healthcare on the chopping block. It is within the realm of possibility that healthcare, or part of the segment, could eventually be divested.” But, according to Mr. Immelt, GE may opt for a different path in the form of scattered portfolio pruning, as GE forges ahead with its growth plans. GE Healthcare CEO John Flannery said, “Life science is an attractive industry with growth and the company has a very strong competitive position in the market, we are confident this business grows faster within GE than it would grow outside.” The company is estimating sales of the unit, which makes products for areas such as chromatography, imaging, and cell-therapy to jump at least 10% in 2016.
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