GE Capital to Acquire Most of Merrill Lynch Capital

Business Wire, Dec 24, 2007

Deal, Expected to Close in First Quarter, Will Add More Than $15 Billion in Assets and Commitments to GE Capital

NORWALK, Conn. & NEW YORK -- GE Capital has agreed to purchase most of Chicago-based Merrill Lynch Capital, Merrill Lynch and Co., Inc.'s (NYSE: MER) wholly-owned middle-market commercial finance business. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The acquisition, expected to close in the first quarter of 2008, will add more than $10 billion in assets and $5 billion in commitments to GE Capital Commercial Finance's base of $260 billion - and adds to existing businesses GE knows and knows how to operate.

GE Capital will buy Merrill Lynch Capital's corporate finance, equipment finance, franchise, energy and healthcare finance units. Merrill Lynch Capital's commercial real estate finance unit is not part of the transaction.

"These strong units fit perfectly with existing and very successful GE Capital businesses," said Mike Neal, vice chairman of GE. "They are in industries we know well, so the potential for growth is compelling. In addition, this timely acquisition will expand our reach, and expand the value we can offer customers."

"This transaction reflects Merrill Lynch's continued strategic focus on divesting non-core assets and optimizing capital allocation, while also enabling the redeployment of approximately $1.3 billion of capital into other parts of our business," said John A. Thain, chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch.

GE Capital offers businesses around the globe an array of financial products and services. It's Commercial Finance unit has assets of over $260 billion and is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. GE (NYSE: GE) is Imagination at Work - a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world's toughest problems. GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit www.ge.com.

Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies, with offices in 38 countries and territories and total client assets of almost $2.0 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a broad range of asset classes and serves as a strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. Merrill Lynch owns approximately half of BlackRock, one of the world's largest publicly traded investment management companies, with more than $1 trillion in assets under management. For more information on Merrill Lynch, please visit www.ml.com.