GE could put a bigger stake of its GE Healthcare division on the market than originally announced, according to an interview with new CEO Larry Culp that was published this week.
Culp told CNBC that GE could sell as much as 49.9% of GE Healthcare, as opposed to the 20% stake it proposed when it announced plans in June to spin off the healthcare unit as a standalone division.
GE has been caught in a cash-flow crisis that has prompted the company to either sell or spin off divisions. In its June announcement, GE said it would float 20% of the company on the market and distribute the remaining 80% to GE shareholders through a tax-free distribution.
In the CNBC interview, Culp responded to a question about possible solutions to GE's liquidity crisis by noting that the amount of GE Healthcare the company could sell may rise to as much as 49.9%, while preserving the deal's status as a tax-free transaction.
"We have flexibility ... we have options there," Culp said. "There is a lot of cash there, given some of the estimates of value that are out there."
