GE Delays Acquisition of InVision

General Electric Co. agreed Monday to delay until Dec. 27 its purchase of InVision Technologies Inc. while federal agencies look into InVision’s disclosure of possible improper payments.

GE agreed in March to buy InVision, the biggest supplier of bomb-detection machines for U.S. airports, for $900 million to expand its security product line. The agreement expired Sunday. InVision, based in Newark, Calif., said in July that it told the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission about the possible improper payments to foreign firms.

The purchase still may be derailed. InVision agreed Monday not to enter into an agreement with the Justice Department without GE’s consent. The companies agreed the transaction would not be completed until there had been a resolution with the Justice Department.

InVision shares rose $1.75 to $47.93 on Nasdaq. Shares of Fairfield, Conn.-based GE fell 7 cents to $34.05 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The offer from GE was $50 a share.

InVision was founded in 1990 to adapt medical computed-tomography technology, known as CT scanners, to detect explosives.