NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of General Electric Co. (GE) - Get Report are up 1.36% to $25.38 in afternoon trading after alternative asset manager Värde Partners, buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) - Get Report and Deutsche Bank (DB) - Get Report agreed to buy GE Capital's Australian and New Zealand consumer lending business for an enterprise value of 8.2 billion Australian dollars, or $6.3 billion, Reuters reported.

A customer base of more than 3 million and an established relationship with many of the major retailers in both Australia and New Zealand were among the reasons for the purchase, the companies said yesterday.

"GE Capital is one of the most respected providers of consumer finance in Australasia," director of KKR Australia Ed Bostock said. "They are led by a strong management team with an outstanding track record of partnering with the leading retailers."

Late last week, it was reported that GE was considering making deeper cuts in its massive banking business, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

The company decided that returns from lending weren't worth the discontent the business causes among GE's investors, the source said.

CEO Jeff Immelt has been faced with the task of focusing the company and winning over investors as the stock price remains below $30 since the financial crisis.

"[The sale] shows that they are committed in how they are investing and deploying capital," Huntington Asset Advisors portfolio manager Peter Sorrentino told Bloomberg. "It's good for the stock," he said.

For more details on the deal, click here.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates GENERAL ELECTRIC CO as a Buy with a ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate GENERAL ELECTRIC CO (GE) a BUY. This is driven by a number of strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, growth in earnings per share, compelling growth in net income, attractive valuation levels and expanding profit margins. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally high debt management risk by most measures that we evaluated."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 3.9%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 8.3%. This growth in revenue appears to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, improving the earnings per share.
• GENERAL ELECTRIC CO has improved earnings per share by 6.1% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. We feel that this trend should continue. During the past fiscal year, GENERAL ELECTRIC CO increased its bottom line by earning $1.50 versus $1.47 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($1.73 versus $1.50).
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Industrial Conglomerates industry. The net income increased by 60.5% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $3,209.00 million to $5,152.00 million.
• 49.72% is the gross profit margin for GENERAL ELECTRIC CO which we consider to be strong. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 12.40% trails the industry average.
• You can view the full analysis from the report here: GE Ratings Report