GE to sell private equity financing unit

General Electric has agreed to sell its private equity financing unit to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board — Canada's largest pension fund — in a deal valued at about $12 billion.

According to USA Today, the sale would be the first major finace deal since GE announced in April it would unload most of its banking business during the next two years.

The company's plan is to move away from what its officials see as a volatile financial sector.

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