GE Capital, a unit of US technology and financial services group General Electric Co (NYSE:GE), said on Wednesday it had disposed of 7.6% in Bank of Ayudhya Pcl (PINK:BKAYY) in Thailand, after receiving substantial interest from investors.
GE Capital sold the stake in the lender to institutional investors, it said, adding it would explore options for its remaining 25.3% interest in Bank of Ayudhya.
The vendor gave no financial details of the sale, but Reuters cited an informed source as saying that the US company had gained some USD466m (EUR) from the divestment.
GE Capital said it had committed to sell no more Bank of Ayudhya stock in the market for a six-month period.
The US group, which has been selling non-core assets as part of an overall restructuring under the CEO Jeff Immelt, agreed in 2007 to take a stake in the Thailand bank, investing THB22.3bn (USD720.4m/EUR559.4m) in total, or THB16.00 a share. At the exchange rate at the time, the investment was worth USD626m, Reuters said.
Sources told the news agency earlier that GE Capital, which first bought 25% in Bank of Ayudhya and then increased its interest to almost 33%, sold the 7.6% stake in the lender at THB31.30 a share, doubling the value of its initial investment.
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