8:23 AM
By Scott Malone
BOSTON | Wed Oct 6, 2010 11:10am EDT
BOSTON (Reuters) - General Electric Co (GE.N) made a pair of major acquisitions and said it was spurned in a third attempt, as the largest U.S. conglomerate builds up its energy and finance arms.
The moves come at a time when top GE officials have said the company could have up to $30 billion available for takeovers over the next few years, marking a shift in stance from the company's defensive posture over the past few years.
GE reached a $3 billion deal to buy Dresser Inc DRESS.UL, a maker of gas engines used by oil and gas production equipment.
"Dresser has a global franchise and brand with 60 percent of revenues outside of North America, which will be accelerated by GE's global footprint," said John Krenicki, a GE vice chairman and chief executive of the company's energy infrastructure division.
Its GE Capital finance arm, which had been its weakest point through the recession had bought $1.6 billion of retail credit assets from Citigroup Inc (C.N).
But GE also said British oilfield services Wellstream Holdings (WSML.L) rejected a $1.2 billion (755 million pound) takeover approach.
GE has been an active acquirer over most of the past decade, and CEO Jeff Immelt has said the company will focus on deals sized at $1 billion to $3 billion in areas that complement its core industrial and finance franchises.
The company is in the process of selling its NBC Universal media business to No. 1 U.S. cable operator Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O).
The payoff of the company's latest round of deals is yet to be seen, said Peter Klein, senior portfolio manager at Fifth Third Asset Management in Cleveland, Ohio, which holds GE shares.
"Are they going to get it right? Are they going to pay the right price? It depends how eager they are to add on assets," Klein said.
GE shares were up 1 percent at $16.68 on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Derek Caney)
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