Today, Dell announced its intent to acquire Dell Financial Services (DFS) Canada Ltd. and CIT Vendor Finance’s Dell-related assets and sales and servicing functions in Europe. CIT Vendor Finance is a leader in vendor financing and leasing and has been engaged in Dell’s financing services for more than 10 years. Subject to customary closing conditions, we expect the Canadian transaction to close in mid-2011, with the European transaction transitioning over a longer period of time. CIT Vendor Finance will also continue to provide financing programs with Dell in select countries around the world beyond these transactions, including agreements in Latin America.
This announcement marks an exciting and important milestone for Dell Financial Services (DFS), which for the past 14 years has delivered financing solutions for Dell customers. Until now, DFS has directly enabled financing to customers in the U.S., while indirectly enabling financing through various vendors outside of the U.S. As Dell continues to evolve its solutions strategy, DFS is evolving to enable that strategy by furthering its direct finance capability for our commercial and multi-national customers. Today is an important step in making that a reality.
Qualified customers should continue to have access to financing opportunities from Dell. For our customers, this expansion should enable direct access to financing opportunities from Dell in Canada and ultimately Europe, similar to the direct financing opportunities in the U.S. today, including continued servicing capabilities and competitive financing incentives. And, for many multi-national companies, it should enable more global consistency of their financing terms and conditions and enhance our services for global customers. The expansion of our capabilities through these proposed transactions, combined with Dell’s existing partnership with CIT Vendor Finance built over more than 10 years, should provide a seamless transition for our customers.
Please watch for more updates on our progress here and do not hesitate to post any questions you may have below.