GE to Sell GE Capital

Big news today from General Electric (GE):

The NYT reports.

General Electric plans to sell off most of its finance arm within two years, redefining the multinational conglomerate as it seeks to complete a transformation begun amid the tumult of the financial crisis.

In addition to the huge planned sales of assets outlined by the company on Friday, General Electric will take other major steps, including bringing back about $36 billion in cash that currently resides overseas.

Rapidly shrinking the finance arm, GE Capital — once the most powerful driver of the company’s earnings until it rocked the parent company after the fall of Lehman Brothers in 2008 — will erase one of the most prominent legacies of G.E.’s former chief executive, Jack Welch.

But it could also release the company from one of its biggest burdens: strict regulatory requirements that come with GE Capital’s being regarded as a financial institution that is too big to fail.

The shares are up 9% in pre-market trading.

Posted by on April 10th, 2015 at 8:02 am


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