Continued Consolidation Among Power-Equipment Makers Expected

Expectations are that further consolidation is to come among the companies that build generators, turbines, and other equipment used in the global power-generation industry. "Look out for new moves to consolidate within this industry, which has been suffering from the Asian and South American economic crises," says analyst Philippe Rezzonico at the Geneva bank Ferrier Lullin. "There is powerful pressure on profit margins." Recently, two European companies, Zurich-based ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd. and French-British Alstom SA Ltd., announced they were merging their power-generation business. The new firm, to be called ABB Alstom Power NV, promises to command a slightly larger share of the world's non-nuclear power-generating business than General Electric Co., the current market leader.