GE Tricked Baker Hughes Board Into Merger, Fraud Suit Claims (1)

General Electric Co. was hit with a lawsuit accusing it of tricking Baker Hughes Inc. into their $7.4 billion merger by leveraging the BHI board’s need to save face after the high-profile collapse of a similar deal with Halliburton Co.

GE lured the oilfield services giant into the deal using “false unaudited financials” that wouldn’t hold up to independent scrutiny, according to the complaint filed in the Delaware Chancery Court by Tri-State Joint Fund, an institutional investor. The suit also targets the board of BHI, which is now known as Baker Hughes, a GE company.

GE didn’t need its false ...