GE To Sell Its Corporate Aircraft Financing Portfolio To Global Jet Capital

(RTTNews) - General Electric Co. (GE) announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its fixed-wing Corporate Aircraft financing portfolio in the Americas to Global Jet Capital, a provider of financing solutions for the private aircraft market.

The Corporate Air portfolio includes loans and leases as well as more than 300 fixed-wing aircraft across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Latin America. Global Jet Capital will also retain a team of experienced GE employees who have been dedicated to this business.

As previously indicated, GE is embarking on a strategy to focus on its high-value industrial businesses and is selling most GE Capital assets. GE will retain the financing businesses that directly relate to GE's industrial businesses including GE Capital Aviation Services which primarily finances commercial aircraft.

With this transaction of approximately $2.5 billion in ending net investment (ENI), GE Capital has announced sales of about $97 billion year-to-date. When completed, the transaction will contribute approximately $0.3 billion of capital to the overall target of approximately $35 billion of dividends expected to GE under this plan.

The transaction is expected to close in stages over the next several months, subject to customary regulatory and other approvals.

In a separate press release, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy or GEH and DTE Energy (DTE) announced plans to explore advancing the detailed design of the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor or ESBWR.

The ESBWR is the world's safest approved nuclear reactor design based on core damage frequency. The reactor can cool itself for more than seven days with no on-site or off-site AC power or operator action, uses approximately 25 percent fewer pumps and mechanical drives than reactors with active safety systems and offers the lowest projected operating, maintenance and staffing costs in the nuclear industry on a per-kilowatt basis.

Dominion Virginia Power has also selected the ESBWR as their technology of choice for a potential third reactor at the North Anna site. That project is expected to be licensed by the NRC next year.