SYDNEY, Australia – GE Money, a unit of General Electric Co., has agreed to buy Australia’s largest wholesale mortgage funder and mortgage originator, Wizard Home Loans, with total loan assets of A$14 billion ($10.4 billion).
The purchase of Australian Financial Investments Group (AFIG) will give GE Money’s financial services businesses in Australia and New Zealand total assets of more than A$26 billion and would lead to more competition, GE Money said in a statement.
The price of the acquisition was not disclosed.
However, media tycoon Kerry Packer’s Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd. said it would record a net gain of about A$58 million from the sale its 25 percent stake in AFIG. Deutsche Asset Management, State Capital Group and ABN Amro also each own 25 percent of AFIG, whose assets include Wizard Home Loans and wholesale mortgage funder AMS.
For this complete story, please visit GE Money to Buy Australia’s Largest Mortgage Firm.
