BHGE: To Drop GE from Company Name and Become Baker Hughes Co
Baker Hughes GE (NYSE:BHGE) will soon shed references to GE in its corporate name and stock ticker, saying it plans to become Baker Hughes Co. with a BKR symbol, as General Electric (NYSE:GE) says it closed the sale of its interests in the company.
GE amassed ~$3B in net proceeds from its secondary offering of 132.25M class A BHGE shares after underwriters fully exercised their options, which triggered the close of BHGE’s repurchase of 11.87M shares of its own Class B stock from GE for a total of $250M; together, the deals mean GE’s voting power over BHGE fell to 36.8%.
The deal cuts the number of individuals GE may designate to BHGE’s board to one from five; John Rice will stay as GE’s representative, while GE appointees Jamie Miller and James Mulva resigned from the board.
