|
GE makes $1.4B purchase
|
 |
March 30, 2001: 10:12 a.m. ET
GE Capital unit buying Franchise Finance, lender to restaurant chains
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - General Electric Co.'s GE Capital unit agreed Friday to buy Franchise Finance Corporation of America for $1.4 billion cash.
Terms call for GE Capital to pay $25 a share, a premium of about 5 percent over Franchise Finance's Thursday closing price of $23.72, up 21 cents. Shares of Franchise Finance (FFA: Research, Estimates) were trading at $24.95 early Friday. Shares of GE (GE: Research, Estimates) were up 35 cents to $41.75.
Including debt, the deal is valued at $2.1 billion.
 Franchise Finance is a Scottsdale, Ariz., real estate investment trust that provides real estate and other financing for chain restaurant operators, convenience stores and automotive service and parts retailers.
The company released a report a week ago saying that growth in the franchise restaurant industry is expected to remain sluggish following last year's 2 percent growth rate, which it termed "the slowest in recent memory."
Click here for a look at financial stocks
Franchise Finance reported net income of $140.5 million, or $2.48 a diluted share, last year, was down slightly from $148.7 million, or $2.68 a diluted share, in 1999. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
