CFN Wins Bidding for Conseco Assets

After a marathon bidding session, the winning bidder for the majority of Conseco Finance Corp.'s assets was CFN Investment Holdings LLC.CFN has agreed to pay at least $700 million for the subprime and manufactured housing lender (formerly known as Green Tree Financial) based in St. Paul, Minn., a Conseco Finance spokeswoman confirmed. GE Consumer Finance has agreed to acquire Mill Creek Bank, a part of Conseco Finance, for $310 million. If GE Consumer Finance does not acquire Mill Creek, CFN will do so for an additional $270 million. The deal is subject to the approval of the Bankruptcy Court, the spokeswoman said. CFN was originally going to acquire Conseco Finance for the outstanding amount of its secured debt. The winning bid exceeds Conseco's debt obligations by approximately $260 million, according to published reports. CFN consists of J.C. Flowers I LP, Montgomery, Ala.; and Fortress Investment Group LLC and Cerberus Capital Management LP, both of New York.