General Electric's Finance Unit In Talks To Buy Milestone Aviation: WSJ

(RTTNews) - General Electric Co's (GE) finance unit is in talks to buy Milestone Aviation Group Ltd, as the industrial giant looks to expand its aircraft-leasing operation into helicopters, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The purchase price for Milestone reportedly could be more than $2.5 billion. Milestone, founded in 2010, is the world's largest helicopter-leasing company by fleet value.

Milestone, co-founded by NetJets Inc founder Richard Santulli, has announced plans for an initial public offering of stock, according to the report.

The report stated that acquiring Milestone would broaden GE Capital Aviation Services' portfolio beyond the competitive plane-leasing business, as it currently owns no helicopters.