G.I. Industries Sells Some Holdings to Reduce Debt

G.I. Industries, continuing a restructuring plan to pare its operating losses and debt, said it sold about 40% of its lease portfolio and some real estate that enabled the Simi Valley company to cut its long-term debt by $9 million.

G.I. is primarily a rubbish collector for about 40,000 customers in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The company diversified in the late 1980s into areas such as equipment leasing, but it is now shedding many of those assets after suffering losses.

In its latest transaction, G.I. said it sold about 40% of its lease receivables--lease payments due the company--mainly to ITT Corp. Terms were not disclosed. G.I. also sold unidentified real estate holdings for $775,000, the company said.