GE to Take Over Unit of Xerox’s Financing

Xerox Corp. received $340 million from General Electric Co. as part of a plan for its finance arm to take over most of the largest copier maker’s customer equipment financing.

The money from GE Capital, the biggest non-blank finance company, is secured by a portion of U.S. lease receivables. The financing was arranged in September, a Xerox spokeswoman said.

Xerox increased its cash balance to about $3.9 billion with the financing and after the repayment of $1.1 billion in debt that matured this quarter. Xerox has been shifting customer financing to General Electric and other companies to reduce debt and add cash as it seeks to return to profitability.

Shares of Xerox, based in Stamford, Conn., rose 60 cents to $10.22 while General Electric, based in Fairfield, Conn., fell 22 cents to $40.73, both on the NYSE.