General Electric to sell property portfolio worth $26.5bnApril 11, 2015 - 14:49 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - General Electric (GE) has announced it will sell nearly all of its property portfolio, worth $26.5bn, to funds including Wells Fargo and Blackstone, according to BBC News. The sale is the biggest commercial property deal in the U.S. since 2007. GE has been retreating from its property investments globally as it focuses on its industrial operations. Without its properties, the company says it expects its other, "high-value" operations to bring in 90% of earnings by 2018, compared to 58% today. The plan allows GE to buy back nearly two billion of its outstanding shares. A further $4bn of commercial real estate assets will be sold to other buyers. GE said it hoped the divestment would make it a "simpler, more valuable" company. Chairman Jeff Immelt said: "This is a major step in our strategy to focus GE around its competitive advantages." Related links: Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Court in Azerbaijan extends former Karabakh leader’s arrest by 5 months The Binagadi District Court in Azerbaijan has granted the prosecutor’s petition to extend the arrest of Arkady Ghukasyan. Ucom General Director joins High-Tech Development Panel Discussion The discussion was titled "The Role of International Corporations and Investors as Catalysts for Development of High-Tech Ecosystem." U.S. still believes “peace is possible” between Armenia, Azerbaijan The United States continues to believe that peace is possible between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Vedant Patel says. Dozens detained as antigovernment protest continue in Armenia At least 63 people demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation were detained on May 14 as they blocked streets in Yerevan. |