EverBank Finalizes $2.4B Purchase of GE Business-Lending Unit

EverBank Financial (EVER) in Jacksonville, Fla. has added billions of dollars of commercial loans to its balance sheet.

The $15 billion-asset company said Monday it has completed its purchase of the business property lending unit of General Electric's (GE) GE Capital for $2.4 billion in cash.

The deal, which the companies announced in July, adds roughly $2.3 billion in loans to a balance sheet that was weighted heavily toward single-family mortgages.

EverBank said it would rename its new subsidiary EverBank Business Property Lending. The unit will lend to small and midsize business borrowers nationwide.

"We believe the strategy is in place to grow the business and look forward to the benefits this acquisition should deliver to our company," EverBank chief executive Robert Clements said in a news release.

The acquisition is one of a series of steps by EverBank to diversify its loan portfolio.

In August, the company established a division to provide financing to golf equipment distributors and hired a team of lenders away from TCF Financial (TCB) to run it.

EverBank also launched a wealth management unit in May as part of an effort to generate more fee income.