GE Capital Fleet Services to Acquire Associates Fleet Services in Canada

    EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., U.S. and TORONTO, Aug. 31 GE Capital
Fleet Services announced today it has signed an agreement to purchase
Associates Fleet Services (Canada) headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario,
Canada.  Details of the transaction were not disclosed.  Completion of the
deal is expected in September subject to regulatory approvals.
    Associates Fleet Services (Associates) is owned by CitiGroup's CitiCapital
unit and represents approximately US$490 million in assets with more than
50,000 vehicles under lease and service management in Canada.  Other
Associates regional office locations include Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver and
Edmonton.
    "Associates Fleet Services has an outstanding base of customers and a
reputation for customer service excellence," said Dan Henson, president and
chief executive officer of GE Capital Fleet Services.  "Our focus will be on
delivering the highest quality of products, services and web-based solutions
to meet customers' fleet management needs.  This acquisition strengthens our
business commitment to grow in Canada."
    Andy Hunt, president of Associates Fleet Services, who will lead the
combined Canadian business once the transaction is completed, said, "We are
excited with the vision we share in leveraging best practices and individual
strengths, bringing new value to our customers, both locally and globally."
    GE Capital Fleet Services, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., is a global fleet
management company with approximately 1.2 million vehicles under lease and
service management with offices in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe,
Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
    GE Capital Fleet Services has served the Canadian marketplace since 1987
and currently has offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto with
40 employees.  GE in Canada has 10,000 employees, 15 major manufacturing
plants and 150 sales and service offices across the country.
    GE Capital Fleet Services is a business unit of GE Capital.  GE Capital,
with assets of more than US $370 billion, is a global diversified financial
services company with 24 specialized businesses.  A wholly owned subsidiary of
General Electric Company, GE Capital, based in Stamford, Conn., provides
equipment management, mid-market and specialized financing, specialty
insurance and a variety of consumer services such as home mortgages and credit
cards, to businesses and individuals around the world.  GE is a manufacturing,
technology and services company with operations worldwide.
    Associates Fleet Services (Associates), a unit of Associates Leasing
(Canada) Ltd., is a full service vehicle leasing and fleet management leader
in Canada with over 40 years experience and employs approximately 185 people.
Associates Fleet Services is part of CitiCapital.  Citigroup, the largest
diversified financing organization in the world provides corporate, commercial
and consumer finance, leasing and related services internationally to over
120 million customers.

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