NORWALK, Conn. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 5, 2006--GE Commercial Finance and The Royal Bank of Scotland Group today announced that GE Capital Markets and RBS Securities are Joint Lead Arrangers providing financing for Resource Management Service, LLC (RMS) and its affiliates.
RMS and its affiliates will use the proceeds from the financing to facilitate its purchase of timberlands from International Paper Company in a number of regions, primarily in the South.
"This is a very important transaction for us," said Craig Blair, Senior Vice President, Forest Investment, of RMS. "GE and RBS demonstrated a strong understanding of our business and provided the financial flexibility to help us advance our strategy of developing timberlands as a financial asset."
International Paper on Tuesday said it was selling 5.1 million acres of U.S. timberlands as part of a previously announced transformation plan to focus on uncoated papers and industrial and consumer packaging.
"This is a great example of GE's ability to provide large, creatively structured and very timely financing solutions, in this case capitalizing on our forest products industry knowledge and continuing efforts to grow in this sector," said Tom Quindlen, Business Leader, GE Commercial Finance - Corporate Lending.
"This transaction demonstrates our strength in financing across all industries at RBS," said Robert McKillip, Managing Director at The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. "We look forward to building on our strengths in the timber industry following our work with RMS."
About Resource Management Service, LLC
Founded in 1950, RMS is an independent timberland investment-management firm that acquires and manages forest investments in the South on behalf of private clients and institutional investors. RMS is a federally registered investment advisor based in Birmingham, Alabama, with investment offices in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and forestry offices across the South.
About GE Commercial Finance
GE Commercial Finance, which offers businesses around the globe an array of financial products and services, has assets of over $190 billion and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. GE (NYSE: GE) is Imagination at Work - a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world's toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and advanced materials, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's website at ge.com.
About The Royal Bank of Scotland Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group ("RBS Group") is one of the world's leading financial services companies providing a range of retail and corporate banking, financial markets, consumer finance, insurance, wealth management and other finance-related activities. For 2005, RBS Group posted total revenue of $44.6 billion and operating profit before tax, goodwill amortisation and integration costs of $13.7 billion. RBS Group serves more than 36 million customers world-wide and employs more than 140,000 people, including nearly 30,000 in the U.S.
In the U.S., RBS Group owns Citizens Financial Group (retail bank, credit card and merchant acquiring businesses). Following the acquisition of Charter One in September 2004 it has grown to become the eighth largest U.S. bank by deposits with a presence in 13 states.
RBS Group's Global Banking & Markets (GBM) in North America is a leading provider of financing and risk management solutions to corporate and institutional clients. It has relationships in the U.S. with more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. Based in New York, it includes Connecticut-based RBS Greenwich Capital, Chicago-based RBS Asset Finance Inc. and also has offices in Boston, Houston, San Francisco, and several other cities. GBM's product suite includes leading positions in corporate banking, treasury and capital markets, project finance, syndications, leveraged finance, private placements, and asset finance to medium and large businesses.
RBS National Bank credit card business manages more than 1.4 million U.S. customer accounts and sells credit cards across the U.S. Headquartered in Bridgeport, Conn., the U.S. credit card arm employs more than 500 people.
Contacts
GE Commercial Finance
Ned Reynolds, 203-229-5717
or
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group
Mark Kollar, 212-279-3115, ext. 201
Jeff Wilson
GE Capital Corporate Finance
[email protected]
1-203-749-6340