Calhoun Eager to Increase Snecma Stake

GE is poised to pounce if and when the French government makes parts of engine-maker Snecma available for sale.

"We want to further that relationship anyway we can," says David Calhoun, president and CEO of GE Aircraft Engines. That desire has also been communicated to the French government, he says.
GE already has close ties with Snecma through the CFM International joint venture. "That has been one of the most successful (joint ventures) in the history of GE," says GE president and chairman-elect Jeffrey Immelt.

The GE executives indicate they've been in close contact with the French government on plans to start partially privatizing Snecma, although they declined to speculate on what may happen. Snecma will have to move into private hands if it is going to be allowed to participate in the European aerospace industry consolidation,

GE officials also acknowledge that they'll likely be limited in how much of a position they'll be allowed to take in the French engine maker. Full control is unlikely to fall to GE, Calhoun says.