France’s Socialist government has provoked a sharp clash with the UK over how to deal with foreign corporate acquisitions by arming itself with new powers to block takeovers.
As the UK government agonises over Pfizer’s £63bn takeover approach for AstraZeneca, Arnaud Montebourg, France’s firebrand economy minister, announced a decree requiring state approval for most foreign acquisitions as part of his battle with General Electric, which is trying to buy Alstom’s energy business for £13.5bn.
The move was condemned by Vince Cable, Britain’s business minister, who said it was a ploy to fend off domestic criticism of the government’s handling of GE.
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