The leading French factoring specialist, Factofrance Heller, has become part of GE Capital, the financial arm of General Electric, following this company's acquisition of the French financial services group Heller Financial. More specifically, this operation is expected to unite the factoring specialist with France's seventh-largest player in this sector, GE Capital Finance.
Factofrance Heller, which helped to launch factoring in France, now boasts almost 27% of the market. Last year, it achieved a FFr290m consolidated profit - up 16.2% on 1999 - despite the termination of its partnership with French bank Credit Agricole, via Transfact, in October of that year. It also posted a solvency ratio of 13.71%, and an RoE rate of 20.5%, compared with GE Capital Finance's target of 15%.
Source: Les Echos
