France: More Cash for Bull

The more things change at Compagnie des Machines Bull, France's largest home-grown computer manufacturer, the more they remain the same. Machines Bull, named for the Norwegian whose punch-card system was the company's first product was deep in debt and floundering in mismanagement when, in 1964, General Electric bought half of the firm for $43 million. Charles de Gaulle had hoped for a "French solution" to Bull's problems, but when none could be found he reluctantly permitted G.E. to buy in. Since then, Machines Bull has continued to lose money. It suffered a...

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