GE COMMERCIAL FINANCE MOVES INTO SPORTS FINANCING

GE’s Media Communications and Entertainment unit teams up with sports financing boutique to launch new European offering

London, 14 May, 2007: GE’s Media, Communications and Entertainment (MCE) business, part of GE Commercial Finance, has entered into an exclusive agreement with Hermes Sports Partners, a leading sports finance and advisory boutique, to provide a full range of financial services and capital to the European sports sector.

GE has already developed strong sports franchise in the US and is looking to significantly grow its existing portfolio of European sports assets. GE Commercial Finance and Hermes Sports Partners will initially target the European football sector with acquisition, corporate and stadium finance but will also focus on other sports, including motorsports and major sporting events and venues.

“Ongoing takeover activity surrounding leading football clubs including Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City shows what an international, attractive and fast-moving industry this is,” explained Ken Goldsbrough, head of GE’s MCE unit in Europe, “whilst the recent acquisitions of Formula 1 and MotoGP by private equity highlight how financially compelling sports businesses can be. The move into sports financing reflects the broad growth strategy of the business and our expanding portfolio in the leisure and entertainment sector, which now represents 25% of our $8 billion portfolio.”

Hermes Sports Partners, now based in GE Commercial Finance’s offices in London, has been providing financial and advisory services to the sports industry since 2003. The team includes Harry Philp, who leads the team, Howard Lacy and San Datta.

“This is an exciting time to be in the sports financing business,” added Harry Philp. “In addition to the continued speculation surrounding the ownership of several UK and European football clubs, we are also seeing increasing investment in other sports assets, including stadia and commercial rights businesses across Europe. We anticipate that there will be significant business opportunities in this space over the next year and beyond.”

GE also provides sports teams with products from other parts of the company, such as energy, lighting, security, plastics for seating/roofing and technology for stadiums– the new team can act as a gateway for sports executives requiring a whole range of services.

Ends