GE to Defend Alstom Power Unit Buy at EU Hearing

General Electric has asked for a hearing of EU and national antitrust regulators in order to argue the merits of its bid for Alstom's  power unit, the U.S. conglomerate said on Saturday.

"We have requested an oral hearing," GE spokesman Jim Healy said.

The move came after the European Commission warned the company earlier this month that the deal, its biggest ever and a key element of its expansion into industrial products and away from finance, would harm competition.

Senior officials from the EU competition authority, their counterparts from EU agencies and rivals are expected to attend the closed-door hearing.  

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)