2000 and Beyond
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2000 | Montgomery Ward folded by GE Capital due to declining sales |
| 2001 | General Electric and Honeywell agree to merge, however it is blocked by European Union M&A chief Mario Monti |
| 2001 | Jeffrey Immelt becomes CEO, replacing Jack Welch |
| 2001 | NBC acquires Telemundo, one of the leading Spanish language television networks |
| 2003 | GE Healthcare acquires Instrumentarium |
| 2003 | GE Capital acquires Transamerica Finance from AEGON, who retained the rest of Transamerica Corporation |
| 2004 | NBC acquires the entertainment assets of Vivendi Universal, excluding Universal Music and forms NBC Universal, of which General Electric owns 80% |
| 2004 | GE Healthcare acquires Amersham plc |
| 2004 | GE Capital acquires Dillard's credit card unit for US$1.25 billion |
| 2004 | GE sells 60% stake in GE Capital International Services (GECIS) to private equity companies, Oak Hill Capital Partners and General Atlantic, for $500 million |
| 2004 | Genworth Financial formed from General Electric's life and mortgage insurance assets |
| 2004 | GE Security acquires InVision Technologies, a leading manufacturer of airport security equipment. On July 1, 2009, the European Union approves the sale of 81 percent of GE's airport security and biometrics division to French company Safran |
| 2005 | GE Commercial Finance acquires the financial assets of Bombardier, a Canadian aircraft manufacturer for US$1.4 billion |
| 2006 | GE Healthcare acquires IDX Systems, a medical software firm, for US$1.2 billion |
| 2006 | GE Advanced Materials division is sold to Apollo Management for US$3.8 billion |
| 2006 | GE Water & Process Technologies acquires Zenon Environmental Systems for $758 million |
| 2007 | GE Consumer & Industrial acquires Microwave Data Systems for US$600 million |
| 2007 | GE-Aviation acquires Smiths Aerospace for £2.4 billion |
| 2007 | GE Oil & Gas acquires Vetco Gray for US$1.9 billion |
| 2007 | GE Plastics is sold to SABIC for US$11.7 billion |
| 2008 | GE Co. acquires Vital Signs Inc. for US$860 million |
| 2009 | GE buys Vivendi's stake in NBC Universal and sell a controlling interest of the company to Comcast, with GE retaining a 49 percent interest in the joint venture |
| 2010 | GE enters negotiations with Comcast Corporation to sell the NBC/Universal unit; Clearance by the FCC and US Attorney General are required |
| 2011 | GE completes sale of NBC Universal with Comcast. GE still owns 49% of The Venture |
Read more about this topic: General Electric Timeline