Resona Holdings Inc, the Japanese bank that received a US$16.3 billion government bailout, has hired Nomura Holdings Inc. to find buyers for Cosmo Securities Co. and three leasing businesses as it bids to cut costs, according to insiders.
General Electric Co (GE), the world's biggest company by market value, is among companies that have expressed an interest in buying the leasing units. Shares of Cosmo gained as much as 5.8%, valuing Resona's 60% stake in Japan's ninth-largest brokerage at about 50 billion yen (US$416 million.)
The combined assets of the three leasing businesses that Resona plans to sell, Asahigin Leasing Co., Daiwa Factor Leasing Co. and Kinki Osaka Leasing Co., exceeded 340 billion yen as at 31 March.
