Headlines---

  
UniCapital Robert New Dies in Private Plane Crash

    
American Express Finalizes Sierra Cities Merger

      
CitiGroup to Buy American Express????

        
Finova Continues Losses

           
GE Buys Franchise Finance

_____________________________________________________________

Thank 
you for the information about Robert New.

UniCapital 
Co-Founder Dies in Plane CrashFederal Aviation 

Administration 

officials 
in Denver failed to notify Aspen's control tower that night 

instrument 
landings at this airport ringed by mountains were banned, 

investigators 
looking into a crash that killed 18 people 

Aspen 
jet carried birthday celebrants

By 
Peggy Lowe, News Staff Writer 

Mountain 
Rocky Newspaper

Limos, 
a gorgeous Aspen home, a catered dinner. 

All 
were waiting for the birthday bash Robert New planned for his 

business 

partner 
Mario Aguilar and 13 others. 

But 
the flamboyant weekend plans in the posh Rocky Mountain ski resort 

went 

down 
in flames Thursday night when the jet carrying the 15 celebrants 

and 
a 

three-person 
crew slammed into a hillside, killing all aboard. 

The 
expensive and elaborate party plans were vintage Robert New, an 

"enormously 
generous" businessman, said his brother, Jonathan. 

"He 
was renting a jet, renting a beautiful house. There was a catered 

dinner 

waiting," 
Jonathan New said. "That's who he is. There's nothing like it 

when 

he 
goes to town like that." 

New, 
36, a financier who lived the wild ups and downs of business, 

owned 

homes 
in Snowmass, Miami and Beverly Hills. His wife, Monica, and 

8-year-old 

son, 
Matthew, lived full time in Snowmass neighboring a home owned by 

movie 

star 
Jack Nicholson. 

The 
jet carried five members of Aguilar's family, including his mother, 

aunt 

and 
two brothers, Jonathan New said. Other people on the plane included 

Mir 

Tukhi, 
26, and Marissa Witham, 22, both staffers at KTTV, the Fox News 

affiliate 
in Los Angeles. 

Tukhi 
was an assignment editor at KTTV and Witham was a production 

assistant 

and 
researcher, said John Frenzel, the station's program director. 

New 
and Aguilar had known each other for about four years and were 

involved 

in 
several business enterprises, said New's Chicago attorney Rene 

Torrado 

Jr. 
He wouldn't be specific about the businesses, but Jonathan New said 

his 

brother 
owned a luxury rental car business and some entertainment 

interests 

in 
Los Angeles. 

New's 
generosity was reportedly as flamboyant as his business dealings. 

A 

company 
he founded with fanfare and huge finances in May 1998 recently 

announced 
that it was bankrupt. UniCapital Corp., an equipment leasing 

company, 
raised $532 million in its intial stock offering. 

Company 
officials drove Mercedes-Benzes, ate from Limoges china and 

drank 

from 
Baccarat crystal, according to a report in The Miami Herald. New's 

private 
bathroom had marble fixtures and a personal fitness center. 

UniCapital 
is now being liquidated and also faces lawsuits from several 

companies, 
including Colorado-based Boulder Capital Group, Torrado 

said. 

His 
attorney called him "a warm, decent human being." 

"He 
had a ready sense of humor, people really responded well to him," 

Torrado 
said. "When he entered the room, everybody wanted to talk to 

Robert." 

Jonathan 
New, the middle brother of three sons by Rhoda and Alan New, 

was 

the 
chief financial officer at UniCapital. The company rented corporate 

jets, 
but New flew both in private and commercial planes, he said. 

Reached 
at his parent's Miami home on Friday, Jonathan said the family 

was 

very 
surprised that Robert had agreed to fly through bad weather. 

"He 
didn't really enjoy flying in any type of bad weather and he was a 

very 

skittish 
kind of flier," he said. "He would ask the pilot a lot of 

questions 

and 
he would be concerned about anything that was going on." 

In 
addition to the birthday party, Robert New was planning to spend 

time 

with 
his family this weekend, but he wasn't a big skier, Jonathan New 

said. 

He 
had been visiting Aspen for 15 years and lived there about four 

years, 
he 

said. 

"He 
just enjoyed the town, the culture and the people," Jonathan New 

said.

For more 
news on how Unicapital Failed, see Miami Hearld Story:'

http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/March01/3-19-01.htm

------------------------------------------------------------

Amex 
Closes SierraCities Deal

By 
Pamela Tate, Dow Jones Newswires 

American 
Express completed its $107.5 million acquisition of equipment 

financing 
company SierraCities.com. 

American 
Express announced the $5.68-a-share cash tender offer for 

SierraCities 
in February. 

In 
other news, shares of American Express rose as much as 8% earlier 

Friday 

(3/30/01) 
on renewed speculation that Citigroup might be eyeing the 

company 

for 
a takeover. The company declined to comment on the rumor, published 

in 
a 

BusinessWeek 
report. 

New 
York Stock Exchange-listed shares of American Express closed Friday 

at 

$41.30, 
up 6% for the day on volume of 13.5 million, nearly twice the 

average 
daily activity. 

Leasing 
News has been following this story since the company changed 

its

name 
from First Sierra, became an "internet company," if you will, with

Sierra 
Cities.com

For 
a complete story, please go to:

http://www.leasingnews.org/articles.doc/newsletter3.htm

-------------

In 
a related story, it is rumored that Citigroup is considering buying 

American 
Express.  The stock is a good buy for them 
now, and the price 

being 

talked 
about is $56 billion.  Citigroup purchased 
Associated Finance 

for 
$30 

billion, 
I believe the largest for a finance company at the time.  
With 

all 

the 
major mergers or purchases, depending on how you want to look at 

it, 

there 
will be room at the bottom for other companies to grow, and a 

very 

good 
opportunity with leasing and finance companies with strong cash 

balances.  
editor

Expected 
News from Finova---Their Press  Release

FINOVA 
Capital Corporation Announces Net Loss for 2000 (Subject to 

Final 

Audit)

Updated 
8:03 AM ET April 2, 2001

SCOTTSDALE, 
Ariz., April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- FINOVA Capital Corporation 

("FINOVA 
Capital"), the principal operating subsidiary of The FINOVA 

Group 

Inc. 
("FINOVA") today announced a net loss of $936.0 million for the 

year 

ended 
Dec. 31, 2000, compared to net income of $219.0 million in 1999. 

The 

results 
included a net loss from continuing operations of $542.9 

million 
in 

2000 
compared to net income of $222.0 million in 1999, and a net loss 

from 

discontinued 
operations in 2000 of $393.1 million compared to a net 

loss 
of 

$3.0 
million in 1999. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2000, FINOVA 

Capital 

announced 
a net loss of $718.2 million compared to net income of $57.6 

million 
in the fourth quarter of 1999. The net loss for the fourth 

quarter 

of 
2000 from continuing operations was $578.0 million compared to net 

income 

of 
$59.6 million in the fourth quarter of 1999, and the net loss from 

discontinued 
operations for the fourth quarter of 2000 was $140.1 

million 

compared 
to a net loss of $2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 1999. 

In 

2000, 
FINOVA Capital experienced a significant deterioration in the 

credit 

quality 
of its portfolio caused in part by a softening U.S. economy and 

certain 
industry specific economic weaknesses affecting many of its 

customers 
in those industries. Additionally, with the loss of its 

investment 

grade 
credit ratings and limited access to capital, FINOVA Capital's 

cost 
of 

funds 
increased significantly during the course of the year. The impact 

of 

these 
events and current economic conditions resulted in increased 

levels 
of 

problem 
accounts and higher cost of funds (resulting in lower interest 

margins), 
higher reserve requirements, higher write-offs, losses on 

investments 
and disposal of assets, impairment of intangible assets, 

reduced 

tax 
benefits and the decision to exit certain businesses. Other Matters 

On 

Feb. 
26, 2001, FINOVA and FINOVA Capital entered into a commitment with 

Berkshire 
Hathaway Inc., Leucadia National Corporation and Berkadia, 

LLC, 
an 

entity 
jointly owned by Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia pursuant to 

which 

Berkadia 
would lend $6 billion on a senior secured basis to FINOVA 

Capital, 

to 
facilitate a Chapter 11 restructuring of its outstanding debt. On 

Mar. 
7, 

2001, 
FINOVA, FINOVA Capital and seven of their subsidiaries filed for 

protection 
under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. On 

the 

first 
day of these proceedings, the bankruptcy court granted various 

orders 

authorizing 
FINOVA Capital to continue operating in the ordinary course 

of 

business, 
including funding commitments to its customers. As of the 

filing 

date, 
FINOVA Capital had over $1 billion of cash on hand. Due to delays 

caused 
by the bankruptcy process and other events, FINOVA Capital has 

filed 

for 
an automatic 15-day extension to file its annual report on Form 

10-K 

with 
the Securities and Exchange Commission. FINOVA Capital expects to 

file 

the 
10-K on or before Apr. 16, 2001. FINOVA Capital Corporation is a 

financial 
services company focused on providing a broad range of 

capital 

solutions 
primarily to midsize business. FINOVA Capital is 

headquartered 
in 

Scottsdale, 
Ariz. with business offices throughout the U.S. and in 

London, 

U.K., 
and Toronto, Canada. For more information, visit the company's 

website 

at 
www.finova.com.

####################################################

GE 
Capital Agrees to Buy Franchise Finance

By 
Matt Murray, Wall Street Journal 

General 
Electric's finance arm agreed to buy Franchise Finance Corp. of 

America 
for about $1.4 billion, and to assume about $700 million in 

debt, 
in 

a 
move that expands the reach of GE's large finance operation among 

franchisers 
such as chain restaurants and convenience stores. 

Clients 
of Franchise Finance, a real-estate investment trust in 

Scottsdale, 

AZ, 
include franchisees of such restaurant chains as Applebee's, 

Arby's, 

Burger 
King and Cracker Barrel, as well as auto companies such as Midas 

Muffler 
Shops and Checkers Auto Parts and convenience stores such as 

Circle 

K. 
The company said as of Dec. 31 it had a combined 

investment-and-servicing 

portfolio 
of more than 6,200 properties throughout the U.S. and Canada. 

GE 
Capital, the world's largest non-bank finance operation, said the 

acquisition, 
among its largest recent purchases, represents its greater 

interest 
in the growing market of financing mortgages and other loans 

to 

franchisers. 
Franchise Finance, meanwhile, said the sale would enable 

it 
to 

offer 
more services and products to customers. 

Through 
its commercial equipment-financing business, GE Capital agreed 

to 

pay 
shareholders of Franchise Finance $25 for each share outstanding. 

As 
of 

4 
p.m. Friday (3/30/01) in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, 

Franchise 
Finance shares gained $1.20, or 5.1%, to $24.92, while GE 

shares 

rose 
46 cents to $41.86 each. 

Franchise 
Finance will retain its name once the transaction closes, but 

will 

be 
identified as a division of GE Capital Financing. The purchase has 

been 

approved 
by boards of both companies, but still requires Commercial 

Equipment 
approval of Franchise Finance shareholders. 

GE 
Capital's commercial equipment-financing business currently provides 

financing 
for a wide range of equipment for companies. It is one of 

more 

than 
two dozen businesses in GE Capital, of Stamford, CT.