BERLIN (Reuters) - German conglomerate Siemens aims to enlist Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for a possible joint bid for parts of Alstom, pulling another global player into the tussle over the French engineering conglomerate.
SIEMENS (SIE.XE)and Mitsubishi said in a joint statement they would decide on a proposal to ALSTOM (ALO.PA)s board of directors by Monday next week.
"We can substantially contribute to a partnership solution for Alstom which will create value for all parties involved, including the country of France," Mitsubishi Heavy Chief Executive Shunichi Miyanaga said in the statement, adding his company had been invited by Siemens to work on a joint bid.
Taking Mitsubishi on board could give Siemens more firepower and flexibility to keep up with a rival $17 billion bid for Alstom's power activities by U.S. conglomerate General Electric Co..
Bloomberg reported earlier on Wednesday that one option being discussed was for Mitsubishi to bid for Alstom's steam and grid businesses while Siemens would acquire its gas turbine operations. The report said the German firm would transfer its train assets to Alstom as part of any deal.
Siemens covets the gas turbine business because it has profitable long-term maintenance contracts with power plant operators.
A person close to Alstom cautioned that the reported proposal under discussion by the Siemens and Mitsubishi would amount to splitting Alstom apart.
Such a deal "would lead to a dismantling which would hardly be accepted by the French government", the source said, adding that Alstom had not received any proposal yet and Mitsubishi had not been granted any access to Alstom's business data.
Alstom declined to comment.
The French government had said it wanted better offers than the one GE put forward, to preserve jobs and the country's energy independence.
Alstom is a supplier of turbines for nuclear plants worldwide, and Paris is concerned that a straight sale of its power arm could hurt France's position in the energy sector.
The government is also worried that Alstom, which makes France's iconic TGV high-speed trains and was bailed out a decade ago, would be too weak as a standalone rail group.
Mitsubishi has recently moved to widen its footprint in Europe. It took over a majority stake in an Austrian metals business from Siemens in May and last year teamed up with Denmark's Vestas Wind Systems
(Reporting by Jens Hack and Benjamin Mallet; Writing by Noah Barkin and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Andrew Roche)
