GE Capital to Acquire Most of Merrill Lynch Capital

GE Capital has agreed to purchase most of Chicago-based Merrill
Lynch Capital, Merrill Lynch and Co., Inc.´s (NYSE: MER) wholly-owned
middle-market commercial finance business. Financial terms were not
disclosed.

The acquisition, expected to close in the first quarter of 2008,
will add more than $10 billion in assets and $5 billion in commitments
to GE Capital Commercial Finance´s base of $260 billion - and adds to
existing businesses GE knows and knows how to operate.

GE Capital will buy Merrill Lynch Capital´s corporate finance,
equipment finance, franchise, energy and healthcare finance units.
Merrill Lynch Capital´s commercial real estate finance unit is not
part of the transaction.

"These strong units fit perfectly with existing and very
successful GE Capital businesses," said Mike Neal, vice chairman of
GE. "They are in industries we know well, so the potential for growth
is compelling. In addition, this timely acquisition will expand our
reach, and expand the value we can offer customers."

"This transaction reflects Merrill Lynch´s continued strategic
focus on divesting non-core assets and optimizing capital allocation,
while also enabling the redeployment of approximately $1.3 billion of
capital into other parts of our business," said John A. Thain,
chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch.

GE Capital offers businesses around the globe an array of
financial products and services. It´s Commercial Finance unit has
assets of over $260 billion and is headquartered in Norwalk,
Connecticut. GE (NYSE: GE) is Imagination at Work - a diversified
technology, media and financial services company focused on solving
some of the world´s toughest problems. GE serves customers in more
than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For
more information, visit www.ge.com.

Merrill Lynch is one of the world´s leading wealth management,
capital markets and advisory companies, with offices in 38 countries
and territories and total client assets of almost $2.0 trillion. As an
investment bank, it is a leading global trader and underwriter of
securities and derivatives across a broad range of asset classes and
serves as a strategic advisor to corporations, governments,
institutions and individuals worldwide. Merrill Lynch owns
approximately half of BlackRock, one of the world´s largest publicly
traded investment management companies, with more than $1 trillion in
assets under management. For more information on Merrill Lynch, please
visit www.ml.com.