Shinsei to buy GE's Japan finance unit

Midsize Japanese lender Shinsei Bank Ltd. said Friday it would acquire the local financial arm of General Electric Co. for 580 billion yen ($5.4 billion) in a bid to boost its consumer finance business.

Shinsei said the acquisition of GE Consumer Finance Co. Ltd. was part of efforts to expand its consumer finance operations, as well as credit card and mortgage businesses.

"This acquisition is a critical next step in our pioneering approach to redefine consumer finance in Japan," Shinsei said in a statement. GE Consumer Finance is Japan's sixth-largest consumer loan company.

GE is involved in a wide array of financial services in Japan.

GE said in a statement Friday it would continue to invest in its other Japanese businesses, including aircraft engines, energy and health care.

Shinsei Bank was created in 2000 when a consortium led by U.S. investment firm Ripplewood Holdings purchased the defunct Long-Term Credit Bank. Currently, U.S. investment fund J.C. Flowers holds a 33-percent stake in the Tokyo-based bank.