General Electric to offload remaining stake in Genworth

02/27/06 - newratings.com

NEW YORK, February 27 (newratings.com) – Industrial conglomerate General Electric Co (GEC) Monday announced plans to offload its remaining stake in financial services company Genworth Financial Inc through a secondary public offering.

General Electric had spun off Genworth Financial through an initial public offering in May 2004 and announced that it would sell off its remaining holding in the insurance company by 2006. The company has been reducing its holding in Genworth through stock sales from time to time. General Electric said on Monday that it would sell about 71 million Class A shares of Genworth for about $2.3 billion. Meanwhile, Genworth Financial will repurchase from General Electric the 15 million Genworth Class B shares at the net price per share of Class A common stock that General Electric receives in the secondary offering.