GE Capital Acquires Sales Finance Portfolios from Citi Retail Partner Cards

GE Capital recently announced that it has acquired sales finance portfolios from Citi Retail Partner Cards. The purchased portfolios provide consumer financing programs and related services to small to mid-sized retailers and dealers in four main segments that are core to GE Capital’s Sales Finance business: Home Furnishings; Flooring; Consumer Electronics and Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC).

The Citi portfolios being acquired include nearly three-dozen retail partner relationships that collectively represent more than 18,000 small to mid-sized Main Street merchant locations across the United States.

“This acquisition is right in line with GE Capital’s goal to invest in core, high performing growth businesses where we have deep experience and broad capabilities to grow. Sales Finance is core to GE Capital and has delivered great results, including through the downturn. This strategic transaction, which we expect to be immediately accretive, makes a great deal of sense for GE Capital, adding high-quality assets and merchant relationships to what has been a core growth business for us for decades,” says Mark Begor, president and CEO of GE Capital Retail Finance.

Under terms of the agreement, Citi will provide interim servicing until GE Capital Sales Finance completes the conversion of merchants and cardholder accounts to its own system. Financial terms of the transaction, which has been approved by regulators, were not disclosed.

“Now, more than ever, retailers and their customers want the attractive financing options we provide. Our programs help drive business and enable consumers to budget and pay for purchases over time,” says Glenn Marino, president and CEO of GE Capital’s Sales Finance business. “This acquisition broadens our relationships with retailers and dealers in segments where we have done quite well and have the expertise to manage and smartly grow.”

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