Xerox Receives $496 Million In Financing From GE Capital

By Agence France-Presse Ailing U.S. copier giant Xerox Corp. said May 13 it received $496 million dollars in financing from GE Capital, secured by portions of Xerox's lease receivables in the United States. "Xerox and GE Capital expect to complete additional U.S. monetizations this year while the two companies finalize the agreement for GE Capital to become the primary provider of equipment financing for Xerox customers in the U.S.," Xerox said in a statement. The financing announced will be amortized over a period that extends into 2005. "In the past year, Xerox has received approximately $2.7 billion in financing from GE Capital, secured by portions of Xerox's lease receivables in the U.S., United Kingdom and Canada," the statement said. Xerox's access to capital markets has been limited by credit downgrades since it agreed to restate some of its earnings following a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Xerox paid a record $10 million fine to settle regulators' charges that it had misled and betrayed investors in a four-year scheme to inflate earnings. Besides the fine, formalized in a New York federal court April 11, Xerox also consented to restating its accounts for 1997-2000 and is to review its accounting controls. Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2002