GE Delays Auction for Japan Lending Unit
Published September 7th, 2007
General Electric Co., the world’s second-largest company by market value, delayed an auction of its Japan consumer lending unit Lake, six people briefed on the decision said.
A first round of non-binding offers, scheduled for Sept. 3, was postponed after some potential buyers complained about how GE and its adviser, UBS AG, handled the sale, two of the people said. They declined to be identified as talks are private. GE aims to restart the auction within 60 days, one of the people said.
Japan’s consumer loans industry has been racked by losses after lawmakers and courts cracked down on lending practices and gave borrowers more scope for demanding interest refunds. Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE ranks sixth among consumer lenders in Japan with about $6 billion of outstanding loans, behind Citigroup Inc.
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