GE confirms bid for France's Areva business

BOSTON (Reuters) - General Electric Co (GE.N) confirmed on Monday it had submitted a binding offer for French state-owned nuclear group Areva SA's (CEPFi.PA) electricity transmission and distribution business.

The largest U.S. conglomerate said it had bid without a partner, but declined to disclose how much it had bid for that business.

"GE's interest reflects its strongly held belief that transmission and distribution technology is a key enabler for customers around the world seeking cleaner, smarter, more efficient means of meeting rising energy demands," the Fairfield, Connecticut-based company said in a statement.

GE, the world's top maker of electricity-generating turbines, said that if its offer was successful it would aim to incorporate minority investors from France, as well as sovereign-wealth funds.

(Reporting by Scott Malone, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)