GE Nears $4.7 Billion Deal to Sell Japan Unit to SMFG
December 09 2015 - 12:10AM
Dow Jones News
TOKYO—General Electric Co. is close to a deal to sell its
Japanese commercial-lending business to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial
Group's leasing arm for $4.7 billion, according to people familiar
with the situation.
GE had winnowed the bidders to SMFG's leasing arm and Japanese
lender Shinsei Bank in November, a person familiar with the
situation said earlier. The price tag for the business is 575
billion Japanese yen ($4.7 billion) including debt, the people
said. The deal is expected to be announced in the near future, they
said.
SMFG, Japan's second-largest bank by market capitalization after
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., bought GE's European
private-equity financing business for about $2.2 billion in July.
The financial group's leasing operation is known as Sumitomo Mitsui
Finance and Leasing.
As part of its global plan to unwind its GE Capital financing
business, GE put the Japanese business up for sale this year, and
several Japanese financial institutions expressed interest.
GE's commercial-finance operations in Japan comprise several
divisions, including direct lending to industrial companies
purchasing big-ticket equipment such as heavy machinery. It also
offers vendor financing, helping manufacturers provide smaller
businesses with financing.
One particularly attractive business is a fleet-management
operation that helps large Japanese companies, such as trucking and
logistics operations, finance and manage ownership of trucks and
automobiles. GE's aviation financing business isn't included in the
sale.
Write to Rick Carew at rick.carew@wsj.com and Atsuko Fukase at
atsuko.fukase@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 08, 2015 23:55 ET (04:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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