NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) May 25, 2004--On May 24, 2004, General Electric Capital Corp.'s (GECC; AAA/Stable/A-1+) life and mortgage insurance subsidiary, Genworth Financial Inc. (A/Stable/--), raised $3.2 billion through an IPO of common equity, equity units, and preferred stock. This marks the completion of the first phase of the divestiture of these operations, which GECC announced last November. The transaction furthers GECC's goal of focusing its resources on higher-growth business lines, such as commercial finance and consumer finance. Proceeds will be used primarily to reduce the implied capital support flowing from General Electric Co. (GECC's parent) to GECC. GECC plans additional equity issuances within the next two years for Genworth, which will reduce GECC's ownership to a minority interest.
