What you see is GE shedding businesses they feel aren't going to be 'fast growers' along with general cost cutting (IE shedding jobs)...the reason is simple, GE's stock is around 18 bucks these days, and they are looking for ways to please stock analysts, and "mature" industries like the rail locomotive business are not going to grow at a stellar rate, not unless they come up with some incredible revolution in technology that literally is a game changer...which going forward, given GE is in cost cutting mode, isn't very likely, it is pretty clear the head honcho is slashing R and D expenditures among other things. The things GE is keeping, like aircraft engines, medical equipment and the like have large growth potential, they are markets where GE both has a large share, and also is growing between defense expenditures and the civilian aircraft market, and medical equipment is a huge, growing market, both domestic and international.
Will it work? Not sure, was watching one of the financial blah blah blah channels in our break room, and the stock is getting hammered, apparently even analysts don't believe this guy knows what he is doing. One guy they had on was openly contemptuous when the CEO said "we are getting expertise on the board", he said they suddently discovered know one on the board knew the businesses they were in?
As far as whoever buys the company, it likely is a combination of they feel like with economies of scale , things like HQ staff, IT, that are duplicated get whacked, and the marketing channel that company has and its technology will work with what they already do, and allow them to penetrate markets they haven't been in before.
