Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is said to be among 12 companies which have signed non-disclosure agreements over the prospective acquisition of GE Capital Sponsor Finance.

According to peHub, which first reported the news, other companies that have signed NDAs include Apollo Management and Ares Management.

Other potential buyers are said to be Blackstone Group LP, Wells Fargo & Co, and American fleet management company Element.

GE Capital Sponsor Finance is expected to sell within 90 days.

In April, General Electric announced it was selling its global fleet management and leasing businesses because it was becoming increasingly difficult to generate a profit.

The company operates a risk fleet of 47,000 vehicles in the UK – 39,000 cars and 8,000 light commercials – making it the ninth largest leasing company according to the FN50. But its risk fleet has remained fairly static over the past five years while rumours of a potential sale have persisted.

Globally, GE Capital funds and fleet manages more than 1.4 million vehicles, funding 500,000 in the US alone.

Industry insiders believe the leasing business may be too big for one buyer and might have to be split up into regions.