Alstom battle to upstage Siemens chief’s grand strategy launch

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Rain clouds are seen in the sky where a Haliade 150 offshore wind turbine operates at Alstom's offshore wind site in Le Carnet, on the Loire Estuary, near Saint Nazaire, western FranceBy Noah Barkin and Irene Preisinger BERLIN (Reuters) – When Joe Kaeser took the reins of German engineering giant Siemens last summer after a boardroom coup, he made clear his priority was closing a yawning profitability gap with rivals such as General Electric . On Wednesday the 56-year-old Bavarian presents his grand strategy, but it is likely to be overshadowed by something that investors and even some Siemens executives fear could undermine his profit drive: a politically-charged battle with the U.S. group for France's Alstom . Siemens announced last week that it would make a formal offer for Alstom – most likely in the form of a swap of power and rail assets – after being encouraged by the French and German governments to step in. Hours later, Alstom's board chose to accept a $16.9 billion GE bid for the French firm's energy unit.

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