GE Sells Insurance Unit to Swiss Re

General Electric Co. sold most of its insurance unit to Swiss Reinsurance Co. on Friday for $6.8 billion in cash and stock, completing a strategy to leave a troublesome segment and redeploy cash to investors and faster-growing businesses.

GE, the industrial products, financial services and media conglomerate, also boosted its dividend and expanded its stock repurchase plan as it announced the deal.

The sale of most of GE Insurance Solutions fulfills a strategy the company began three years ago to sell its insurance businesses.

Over the last five years, the Insurance Solutions business lost $700 million and required the infusion of $3.2 billion of capital, company officials said.

“We think this is a tremendous drag that has been eliminated from this company going forward,” GE Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said.

The company said it expected to incur an after-tax loss of about $2.8 billion from the sale.

GE said its board raised the quarterly dividend 14% to 25 cents a share, for a full-year 2006 dividend of $1 a share, up from the current 88 cents a share.

The board also expanded an existing share repurchase plan from $15 billion through 2007 to $25 billion through 2008.

Shares of GE rose $1.09, or 3.1%, to $35.75.