General Electric Co is near a deal to sell its private equity lending unit to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), a person familiar with the matter said, as the conglomerate takes a big step in a planned massive pullback from its finance operations. The deal with the CPPIB, Canada's biggest pension fund, is expected to include GE's Antares Capital business, a middle-market lender for private equity- backed transactions, the source said. It does not, however, include all of GE's U.S. sponsor finance business, such as the joint venture with Ares Management, the source added.GE and the CPPIB are aiming to sign the deal on Monday, the Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. Terms are still being negotiated for a takeover that would include more than $10 billion of assets but less than the unit's full book of $16 billion, the newspaper added.GE's retreat from lending and a broader move to reduce its exposure to its finance arm comes as U.S. regulators move to curb aggressive lending by financial institutions that could pose systemic risk.
Financial Institutions, Inc. (FII) is a financial holding company. Shares of FISI traded higher by 2.54% or $0.6/share to $24.20. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $21.67 and as high as $27.02. On average, 27641 shares of FISI exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 38233.
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