(Reuters) - General Electric Co (N:GE) will be "out of the box very strong" as it seeks to wring out $3 billion in cost savings over five years from its long-awaited acquisition of the power business of France's Alstom (PA:ALSO), GE's power chief said on Tuesday.
GE won European approval on Tuesday for the roughly $13.5 billion acquisition, the largest purchase in its history, 16 months after first announcing it.
Steve Bolze, the CEO of GE Power & Water, said the company was targeting a close for the deal "as early as possible" in the fourth quarter.
"At this point, we see clear path to closing and we're ready to roll," Bolze said in an interview.