GE Says No Room to Buy Ansaldo STS

U.S. conglomerate General Electric Co does not see room for a deal to buy rail signalling firm Ansaldo STS from Italian defence group Finmeccanica, GE Europe President and CEO Nani Beccalli-Falco said on Friday.

"When things drag on for a long time it becomes difficult to conclude. The first time we looked at Ansaldo STS was ten years ago and we never concluded anything. There is no room to reach an agreement," he said on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti business gathering on the shores of Lake Como in Italy.

State-controlled Finmeccanica put up for sale its 40 percent stake in Ansaldo STS and other assets more than two years ago to cut debt and focus on its core aerospace and defence businesses.

(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, writing by Naomi O'Leary, editing by Danilo Masoni)