General Electric has announced the much-awaited split of its various business units into three companies. The partition will see General Electric (GE) create separate companies over the next few years which will house its healthcare business and energy business, leaving GE with the aviation business. “Today marks a key milestone in GE’s plan to become three independent, laser-focused companies. Leveraging GE’s multi-billion-dollar global brand gives us a competitive advantage in our end markets, allowing these businesses to win in the future,” said H Lawrence Culp, Jr, Chairman and CEO, GE, and CEO, GE Aerospace. GE had announced last November that it will form three industry-leading, global public companies focused on the growth sectors of aviation, healthcare, and energy.
The American conglomerate will begin the process by executing a tax-free spin-off of GE HealthCare in early 2023. “Building on a more than 100-year history, the GE HealthCare name and Monogram will serve as an enduring badge of safety, quality, trust, and innovation,” GE said in a release. After the spin-off, GE HealthCare will be listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “GEHC”.
Further, in early 2024 GE plans to execute the tax-free spin-off of GE Vernova, GE’s portfolio of energy businesses, which provides one-third of the world’s electricity and is focused on accelerating the path to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy. “The new name is a combination of “ver,” derived from “verde” and “verdant” to signal the greens and blues of the Earth, and “nova,” from the Latin “novus,” or “new,” reflecting a new and innovative era of lower carbon energy that GE Vernova will help deliver,” GE said. GE Vernova will have more than 7,000 gas turbines and 400 GW of renewable energy equipment.
After the separation of healthcare and energy verticals, GE will be an aviation-focused company called GE Aerospace. “With an installed base of 39,400 commercial and 26,200 military aircraft engines, the company will continue to play a vital role in supporting the industry through a historic recovery while shaping the future of flight,” the company said. Following the planned separations, GE Aerospace would own the GE trademark and would provide long-term licenses to the other companies.
General Electric, founded in 1892, is a Boston-based company that currently operates Power, Renewable Energy, Aviation, and Healthcare segments. The company is well known for its lightbulbs and electronic appliances that it manufactured for the American market before selling the lighting business to Savant Systems in 2020 for $250 million and the appliance business to Haier Group in 2016.