Was $57 Billion in Cash Burning a Hole in General Electric Company's Pocket?

Former GE headquarters building. Source: Wikipedia/UpstateNYer.

Back in April, General Electric established a budget for potential acquisitions in the year ahead. The ideal price tag, as laid out by GE's CEO Jeff Immelt, was anywhere between $1 billion and $4 billion. But Immelt also noted that the company would be "opportunistic" if a larger acquisition happened to present itself, and sure enough -- only a few days later -- it did. 

In the months that followed, GE entered into a quasi-bidding war over Alstom, which is an industrial outfit that, for all intents and purposes, is the "General Electric of France." GE wanted to acquire Alstom's power and grid business, in particular, and was willing to pay upwards of $16.9 billion to do so, a price well beyond its predetermined range.

Accordingly, shareholders and analysts have scrutinized the deal since the day it first made headlines, wondering whether GE's massive $57 billion foreign cash balance was burning a hole in its pockets and thereby tempted Immelt to go shopping in Paris. Is their evidence, in fact, that GE stretched outside of its comfort zone to deliver its largest deal ever?

In the following video, Motley Fool senior manufacturing specialist Isaac Pino dissects the ins and outs of the Alstom transaction and sheds some light on whether this was the best move for GE. Perhaps more important, was it the best long-term move for GE's shareholders? Click on the video below for insight into GE's decision and the possible alternatives that could have unfolded.