General Electric jumps after reportedly filing a confidential IPO for its healthcare unit

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• General Electric jumped as much as 7% early Wednesday after reportedly filing a confidential initial public offering for its health care unit, GE Healthcare.
• GE is likely to publicly file for the IPO in the spring, Bloomberg reported.
• The stock is down 57% this year, and trading just above its 2018 low.

General Electric shares jumped as much as 7% early Wednesday after reportedly filing a confidential initial public offering for its health care unit, GE Healthcare, in a spin-off that would form one of the world's largest healthcare companies.

GE will likely publicly file for the IPO in the spring, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg calculated that the healthcare company, once spun off, would boast an enterprise value in the range of $65 billion to $70 billion.

GE is working with investment banks Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley on the IPO plans, according to Bloomberg's report.

The reported filing comes as the industrial conglomerate undergoes changes across its units. The company in October slashed its dividend to a penny in an attempt to strengthen its balance sheet, and said it was restructuring its power unit. The sweeping efforts to turn around the struggling giant come under the leadership of new CEO Larry Culp, who took the reigns in October.

GE shares have plunged over the last two years, down 57% this year and 66% since the start of 2017. Last week, the stock plummeted to its financial crisis-era low of $6.66 a share before recovering slightly.

Now read:

• GE Healthcare just filed a confidential IPO, kick-starting a spinoff that would create one the world's biggest pharma giants
• GlaxoSmithKline will be broken up in a mega deal with Pfizer that could change the face of global healthcare

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