General Electric Co. has agreed to sell its U.S., Mexico, Australia and New Zealand fleet businesses for $6.9 billion, with a separate smaller deal in the works to unload its business in Europe, marking the latest steps in the industrial group’s retreat from banking, The Wall Street Journal reported today. In the first transaction, GE has agreed to sell fleet assets held by financial unit GE Capital to Canada’s Element Financial Corp. The U.S. and Mexico part of the deal is expected to close in the third quarter this year, with the Australia and New Zealand part in the fourth. GE has also signed a memorandum of understanding for the potential sale of its European fleet businesses to Arval, a fully owned unit of France’s BNP Paribas SA, before the end of the year. That disposal includes a fleet of 160,000 vehicles in 12 countries, and Arval and Element work as partners in North America.
