General Electric will sell its Japanese consumer finance operation to Shinsei Bank, as the US conglomerate looks to spin off large parts of its portfolio, The International Herald Tribune reports.
Shinsei will pay 580 billion, or $5.4 billion, for the Japanese arm of GE Consumer Finance, said one of the people, all of whom would speak only on the condition of anonymity because the deal has yet to be announced.
In Japan, unlisted GE Consumer Finance includes a moneylender, Lake, as well as a credit card and housing loan operation.
The deal may be finalized in the next few days, the people say, putting an end to GE’s year-long efforts to pull out of consumer lending in Japan, where tighter government regulation has eroded industry profits.
GE previously said it was looking to sell Lake, but did not mention anything about a sale of the whole Japanese consumer finance business.
The full story is available at the International Herald Tribune web-site.