General Electric Co., a Fairfield-based technology and financial services company, recently filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the initial public offering of its North American retail finance business, according to a press release.
As previously announced, the IPO is the first step to the retail finance business’s exit plan from GE. GE expects to complete the IPO later this year. Once the IPO is completed, GE Capital Retail Finance will operate under its new name “Synchrony Financial.”
The company estimates proceeds of up to $100 million from the offering, according to a document filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The document did not disclose how many shares will be offered or at what price, according to a press release.
GE, which produces jet engines, medical diagnostic equipment, oil and gas drilling equipment and washing machines, plans to shift its focus toward industrial equipment and appliances. The idea is to reduce its finance arm’s assets from $400 billion in 2013’s first quarter to between $300 billion and $350 billion by the end of next year, CEO Jeff Immelt said last spring.
Synchrony Financial, a provider of store credit cards through retailers like Wal-Mart and the home-improvement chain Lowe’s, will spin off and work with retailers such as Amazon and Ethan Allen. According to the SEC filing, the unit recorded $2 billion in earnings last year.
