Infrastructure assets can be stable, long-term investments, and as a result, private equity firms are certainly interested.

In fact, TPG has joined Global Infrastructure Partners – a joint venture of Credit Suisse and GE Infrastructure (NYSE: GE) – to make a preliminary $6.5 billion bid (when you include the debt load) for Asciano, a port and rails infrastructure firm based in Australia.

Actually, TPG has had a mixed performance with Australian deals. For example, the firm was unable to pull off its $11.1 billion buyout of Qantas.

Yet, now the markets are much different, and infrastructure operations definitely need cash – which is tough to get in the current credit crunch.

Asciano has about 8,000 employees and generates $2.5 billion in revenues. Some of its key assets include bulk export facilities, four leading container terminals, Stevedoring equipment and rail operations for freight and commodities. There are also joint ventures, such as Patrick Autocare (processing, storage and distribution of motor vehicles).

Of course, Ascaino has already rejected the buyout offer, but it's going to be tough to get a much higher bid, especially in light of the company's heavy debt load and weak operational performance over the past year.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Bloomberg News reports that General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has cut the number of its business units from six to four. This change in organization structure should trim its overhead. But it could make it more difficult for investors to compare GE's performance before the reorganization to how it's doing after the change in structure.

The key unresolved question is whether the new structure will boost GE's revenue and profit growth. Bloomberg reports that the four new units will be GE Technology Infrastructure, GE Energy Infrastructure, GE Capital and NBC Universal. GE formerly had six units -- Reuters reports that GE Health Care, which was one of the six former divisions, now falls under the new Technology Infrastructure unit. GE's $13 billion consumer and industrial businesses, which include washing machines and lighting, is not part of the new structure -- in 2009 GE wants to spin those businesses off to shareholders.

Bloomberg reports that in May, GE CEO Jeff Immelt said that he intends to change GE's product mix to about 60% non-financial by 2010 -- far more than it is today. In 2007, GE's finance-related businesses accounted for 44% of net income and 53% of profit from continuing operations. It is not clear whether the new organization structure will help revive GE's revenue and profit growth.

I estimate that General Electric Company (NYSE: GE)'s Infrastructure segment is worth $153.7 billion, roughly the same as last July's $154.6 billion.

GE's Infrastructure segment produces, sells, finances and services equipment for the air transportation and energy generation industries. It also produces, sells, and services equipment for the rail transportation and water treatment industries.

GE Infrastructure is GE's crown jewel at the moment. Its revenues rose 23%, or $11.0 billion, in 2007 on higher volume ($7.9 billion), higher prices ($1.1 billion) and the effects of the weaker U.S. dollar ($0.8 billion) at the industrial businesses in the segment. The increase in volume reflected the effects of acquisitions at Aviation and Oil & Gas and increased sales of commercial engines and services at Aviation, thermal and wind equipment at Energy, and equipment and services at Oil & Gas and Transportation.

The tipping point has come and GE (NYSE:GE) says that more than 50% of its sales will be international this year. The company, quoted by Reuters said "business in emerging markets was growing at more than twice the pace of developed markets and was likely to expand by 20 percent a year for the next several years."

GE is assuming that its sales in the US will actually slow while revenue in India, Russia, China, and other large overseas markets will pick up. Most of these emerging markets are improving their infrastructure which plays in GE's strength in industrial and infrastructure construction and management.

But, the news is double-edged. Governments in many developing countries are much less stable than they are in the . And, in markets such as Russia, Nigeria, Indonesia, China and Saudi Arabia, totalitarian governments may not elect to let companies pursue unlimited growth. Venezuela recently pushed out several international oil companies and there is no reason to believe that this kind of behavior will be isolated to that country

Increasing business in the developing work is as much about diplomacy as it is about products and services. GE may want to hire some people from the State Department.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

I estimate that General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) Commercial Finance segment is worth between $43.5 billion and $64.1 billion.

GE's Commercial Finance segment, which constituted 14.6%, 14.0%, and 14.5% of GE's consolidated revenues in 2006, 2005, and 2004, respectively, offers loans, leases, and other financial services to manufacturers, distributors, and end-users for a variety of equipment and major capital assets. These assets include industrial-related facilities and equipment; commercial and residential real estate; vehicles; corporate aircraft; and equipment used in the construction, manufacturing, telecommunications, and health care industries.

GE Commercial Finance looks to me like it's benefiting from the surge in orders for GE Infrastructure.commercial finance profits were up 18% in the second quarter. While developing countries use GE Commercial Finance to purchase capital equipment, the risk in this business is in lending to commercial and residential real estate which seems far from bottoming out.

Assuming that GE Commercial Finance generates net income of $4.5 billion in 2007, here are the range of valuations based on the Price/Earnings ratios of the following peer companies:

• CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) P/E: 14.3. $64.1 billion
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) P/E: 11. $49.3 billion
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) P/E: 9.7. $43.5 billion

Next: Breaking Down GE Money

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He owns General Electric shares and has no financial interest in the other securities mentioned in this post.

I estimate that General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) Infrastructure segment is worth $154.6 billion.

GE's Infrastructure segment, which constituted 29.0%, 28.3% and 27.8% of GE's consolidated revenues in 2006, 2005 and 2004, respectively produces, sells, finances and services equipment for the air transportation and energy generation industries. It also produces, sells and services equipment for the rail transportation and water treatment industries.

GE Infrastructure is really the jewel in the GE crown. Its profits were up 23% in the second quarter. Demand for these products is very high as developing countries with huge cash balances upgrade their infrastructures. While I am not sure how big their budgets are likely to be over the next five to 10 years or whether the price of oil -- needed to fuel those budgets -- will stay as high as it is now, GE Infrastructure looks like a leader in an industry with great profit potential.

Assuming that GE Infrastructure generates net income of $8 billion in 2007, there is one comparable company, United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) which has a P/E of 19.4. Applying UTX's P/E to GE Infrastructure's earnings forecast yields an estimated value of $154.6 billion.

I would rather have a range of comparable companies, so I welcome suggestions for other publicly traded firms to use as a benchmark.

Next: Breaking Down GE Commercial Finance

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He owns General Electric shares and has no financial interest in the other securities mentioned in this post.