GE Buys Stake in Dundee REIT; Launches Nuclear Construction Alliance With Hitachi

General Electric had a busy day Monday, with two major announcements and speculation that a third was close at hand. GE shares rose nearly 1% as a result of the flurry of activity. GE's real estate division announced the purchase of an 18% stake in Canada's Dundee Real Estate Investment Trust, in a tender offer valuing the shares at 19% above Friday's closing price. Ge will also purchase 180 Dundee commercial and industrial properties in Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland for a total price of approximately $2.3 billion (C$2.4 billion). Dundee shares rose 16% in Toronto Monday, for their biggest gain in more than four years. Dundee's remaining holdings will be almost exclusively in Western Canada. In other news, GE and Japan's Hitachi Ltd. began a joint nuclear plant construction alliance under the name GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy (in Japan, the company will go the Hitachi name exclusively). Outside of Japan, the venture is 60% GE-owned, while in Japan, Hitachi will maintain an 80% stake. Meanwhile, GE Benelux head John Vassallo said GE is keeping its eye on takeover targets in Belgium in the property and financial services sector as well as in the port of Antwerp, one of Europe's largest.

Sources: Press Release, Bloomberg (i) (ii), Reuters
Commentary: Margin Growth Should Drive GE for Years to Come - Barron's • General Electric's Ecomagination: A Panacea? • Cramer's Take on GE
Stocks/ETFs to watch: General Electric (GE), Hitachi (HIT). Competitors: Toshiba (TOSBF.PK). ETFs: DJ Wilshire REIT (RWR), Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ)

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