Full Description

General Electric Company (GE) is a diversified technology, media and financial services company. The Company’s products and services include aircraft engines, power generation, water processing, security technology, medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and industrial products. As of December 31, 2008, GE operated in five segments: Energy Infrastructure, Technology Infrastructure, NBC Universal, Capital Finance and Consumer & Industrial. In January 2009, the Company acquired Interbanca S.p.A., an Italian corporate bank. In April 2008, Oil & Gas completed the acquisition of the Hydril Pressure Controls business from Tenaris. In September 2008, the Company announced the sale of its Japanese consumer finance business to Shinsei Bank. During the year ended December 31, 2008, the Company acquired Whatman plc, a supplier of filtration products and technologies; Vital Signs, Inc., a provider of medical products applicable to a range of care areas, such as anesthesia, respiratory, sleep therapy and emergency medicine; Merrill Lynch Capital, and CitiCapital.

In September 2009, the Company sold its 81% interest in Homeland Protection business ((GE Homeland Protection) to Safran SA. In March 2009, Teleflex Incorporated completed the sale of its 51% share of Airfoil Technologies International - Singapore Pte. Ltd., to GE. Airfoil Technologies International - Singapore Pte. Ltd. was a joint venture between and Teleflex and GE. In September 2009, the Company completed the acquisition of ScanWind, which is a developer of advanced drive train and control wind turbine technologies aimed at offshore deployment. In September 2009, Moog Inc. completed the acquisition of the Company’s GE Aviation Systems’ flight control actuation business. In November 2009, GE Aviation acquired Naverus, Inc., a supplier of advanced performance-based navigation (PBN) services, including Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedure development, PBN procedure maintenance, operations support and consulting for airlines, air navigation service providers and airports.

Energy Infrastructure

The Company’s Energy Infrastructure segment is engaged in the field of development and implementation of products and technologies. Its operations are located in North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. GE Energy is a supplier of power generation and energy delivery technologies in all areas of the energy industry, including coal, natural gas and nuclear energy, as well as water, wind, solar and alternative fuels. The Company designs and manufactures surface and subsea drilling and production systems, equipment for floating production platforms, compressors, turbines, turboexpanders, high pressure reactors, industrial power generation and a range of ancillary equipment. GE’s water and process technologies offer water treatment solutions for industrial and municipal water systems, including the supply and related services of specialty chemicals, water purification systems, pumps, valves, filters and fluid handling equipment for wastewater and process systems, including mobile treatment systems and desalination processes.

Technology Infrastructure

GE Technology Infrastructure is engaged in building healthcare, transportation and technology infrastructure. Its businesses include provision of aviation, enterprise solutions, healthcare and transportation. Aviation produces, sells and services jet engines, turboprop and turbo shaft engines and related replacement parts for use in military and commercial aircraft. Its military engines are used in a variety of aircraft including fighters, bombers, tankers, helicopters and surveillance aircraft, as well as marine applications, and its commercial engines power aircraft in all categories of range short/medium, intermediate and long-range, as well as executive and regional aircraft. Aviation also produces global aerospace systems and equipment, including airborne platform computing systems, power generation and distribution products, mechanical actuation products and landing gear, various engine components for use in both military and commercial aircraft. It provides maintenance, component repair and overhaul services (MRO), including sales of replacement parts for models of engines and repair and overhaul of engines.

GE designs and manufactures equipment and systems that enable customers to monitor, protect and control their critical applications. These products include sensing instruments that measure temperature, pressure, moisture, gas and flow rate for customer applications. Enterprise Solutions also designs, manufactures and services inspection equipment, including radiographic, ultrasonic, remote visual and eddy current that monitors and tests materials without disassembling, deforming or damaging them. The Company delivers automation hardware, software and embedded computing systems through an array of capabilities and products, including controllers, embedded systems, advanced software, motion control, computer numerical controls, operator interfaces, industrial computers and lasers.

GE’s Healthcare business manufactures, sells and services a range of medical equipment that enables doctors to see broken bones, diagnose trauma cases, view the heart and its function, and identify early stages of cancers or brain disorders. In addition, Healthcare manufactured technologies include patient monitoring, diagnostic cardiology, ultrasound, bone densitometry, anesthesiology and oxygen therapy, and neonatal and critical care devices. Medical diagnostics and life sciences products include diagnostic imaging agents used in medical scanning procedures, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing and cellular technologies.

GE’s Transportation business provides technology solutions for customers in a variety of industries, including railroad, transit, mining, oil and gas, power generation and marine. Transportation manufactures high-horsepower diesel-electric locomotives, including the Evolution Series. It also provides gearing technology for applications such as, wind turbines. Transportation also provides a portfolio of service, including repair services, locomotive enhancements, modernizations, and information-based services like remote monitoring and diagnostics.

NBC Universal

NBC Universal is a diversified media and entertainment company focused on the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information. NBC Universal, which is 80% owned by General Electric and 20% owned by Vivendi S.A., is engaged in the production and distribution of film and television programming; the operation of cable/satellite television networks; the broadcast of network television through owned and affiliated television stations within the United States, and investment and programming activities in digital media and the Internet.

Its film company, Universal Pictures, is engaged in the production and worldwide distribution of theatrical, home entertainment and television programming. GE’s cable/satellite television networks provide produced and acquired entertainment, news and information programming to households worldwide. Its cable/satellite television networks include the USA Network, Bravo, CNBC, the SciFi Channel, MSNBC, Oxygen, UniHD, Chiller, Sleuth, mun2 and channels across Europe, Asia and Latin America. As of December 31, 2008, it owned and operated 26 television stations.

Capital Finance

GE’s Capital Finance offers a range of financial products and services worldwide. Services include commercial loans, operating leases, fleet management, financial programs, home loans, credit cards, personal loans and other financial services. The Company’s Commercial Lending and Leasing (CLL) offers a range of financial services worldwide. It offers loans, leases and other financial services to customers, including manufacturers, distributors and end users for a variety of equipment and capital assets. GE Money is a provider of financial services to consumers and retailers in over 50 countries worldwide. The Company’s range of financial products include private-label credit cards, personal loans, bank cards, auto loans and leases, mortgages, debt consolidation, home equity loans, deposit and other savings products, and small and medium enterprise lending.

The Company’s real estate business offers a range of capital and investment solutions, including equity capital for acquisition or development, as well as fixed and floating rate mortgages for new acquisitions or re-capitalizations of commercial real estate worldwide. Its real estate loans are intermediate term, senior, fixed or floating-rate, and are secured by existing income-producing commercial properties. The Company invests in, and provides restructuring financing for, portfolios of mortgage loans, limited partnerships and tax-exempt bonds.

Energy Financial Services offers equity, debt, leasing, partnership financing, project finance and broad-based commercial finance to the global energy and water industries. Energy Financial Services also owns an interest in Regency Energy Partners LP, a partnership engaged in the gathering, processing, transporting and marketing of natural gas and gas liquids. GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) is engaged in commercial aircraft leasing and finance, delivering fleet and financing solutions for commercial aircraft. GECAS also has in its portfolio an array of products including leases, debt and equity investments to the global transportation industry (marine, rail and intermodal).

Consumer & Industrial

The Company’s Consumer & Industrial segment sells and services home appliances, including refrigerators, freezers, electric and gas ranges, cooktops, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers, microwave ovens, room air conditioners and residential water systems for filtration, softening and heating. The Company manufactures certain products, and also source finished product and component parts from third-party manufacturers. It also manufactures and sells a variety of lamp products for commercial, industrial and consumer markets, including incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, high-intensity discharge, light-emitting diode, automotive and miniature products.