GE in talks to sell lending unit for $74 bn: report

General Electric, refocusing on its industrial roots, is in talks to sell its USD 74 billion commercial lending unit to Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest US bank, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

GE is pursuing negotiations to sell all or part of the business to Wells Fargo, with the talks also involving other bidders, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter. Contacted by AFP, the huge US conglomerate declined to comment.

The sale of its biggest lending operation would represent a major piece of its plan announced earlier in April to sell most of GE Capital, valued at USD 200 billion, over the next two years.

Wells Fargo and private-equity firm Blackstone said on April 10 that they were buying most of GE Capital's real estate assets in a USD 23 billion deal.

Last Friday, GE reported a USD 13.6 billion first-quarter loss on charges from its plan to sell most of GE Capital, part of an overhaul directed by chief executive Jeff Immelt to emphasize the company's industrial and technological prowess.