GE to acquire WMC Finance Co.

GE Consumer Finance, the consumer lending unit of General Electric Co., this week announced it will acquire WMC Finance Co. Terms were not disclosed.

The transaction, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2004 and will expand GE's global consumer finance business in the United States. GE Consumer Finance has $107 billion in assets globally, according to a press statement.

"This acquisition represents an exciting step in the growth and broadening of our Americas consumer finance business," said Mark Begor, president and CEO of GE Consumer Finance-Americas. "The U.S. market for consumer finance is $5 trillion and it's growing, and this acquisition immediately gives us another channel through which we can expand quickly to reach new consumers."

WMC originates loans through its network of more than 10,000 mortgage brokers who use the company's Internet-based origination system. The company, which employs more than 1,200 people, will continue to be based in Woodland Hills, Calif., with offices in Texas and New York.

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