GE Divests 14.4% Interest in Penske Truck Leasing

General Electric Company

revealed that it struck and close the divestment of a 14.4 percent limited partner stake in Penske Truck Leasing Co to Penske Automotive Group. The business conglomerate said that the divestment represented ending net investment (ENI) of about $0.4 billion. As a result, the company now has a 15.5% limited partner stake in the business. GE said that since the announcement in April last year GE Capital has signed agreements for about US$189 billion and has closed about US$168 billion of those deals including the latest one. The company indicated its intension to divest about $200 billion of GE Capital businesses throughout the world and expects to have largely completed the process before the end of the current year. GE Capital also believes that it was in line with the objective of delivering about $35 billion of dividends to GE under this plan, subject to regulatory approval. GE Capital chairman and CEO, Keith Sherin, commented, "As we continue to execute on our strategy to sell our businesses that aren't linked to GE's industrial businesses, we're pleased to announce this agreement for the sale of a significant portion of our remaining stake in Penske Truck Leasing to our long-time partner, Penske Automotive Group. Penske Truck Leasing is a leading provider of truck leasing and rental services in North America and is a well-established global provider in the logistics business." The company has been focusing on its high-value industrial businesses as indicated earlier and is in the process of divesting most of GE Capital's assets. However, GE will retain the financing verticals, which deals directly to its industrial businesses. On Wednesday, the stock shed 0.19 or 0.60 percent to close at $31.28.