By Inti Landauro
PARIS--Alstom SA (ALO.FR) confirmed on Wednesday that talks with
the U.S. Department of Justice are ongoing after people familiar
with the matter said Tuesday the company was close to sealing a
deal with U.S. prosecutors to pay a $700 million fine.
"Further to recent press reports, Alstom confirms the existence
of discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice with respect to
its current investigations," the French engineering company said in
a statement.
The company will provide further information "in due course,"
the statement added.
A settlement of that size would be the largest ever related to
foreign bribery allegations between a corporation and the Justice
Department.
The settlement talks come as General Electric Co. (GE) is
closing its purchase of the bulk of the French company, which has
faced a number of bribery investigations around the world in recent
years.
--Joel Schectman, Rachel Louise Ensign and Andrew Grossman
contributed to this article.
Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com
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