Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric’s chief executive, has indicated that the US group will steer clear of large takeovers or divestments in the near term following Monday’s $11.6bn (€8.6bn) sale of its plastics business to Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Immelt signalled that, following a $26bn deal spree over the past five months, GE would focus on returning cash to shareholders and growing its existing businesses.