GE Capital May Buy Regency Centers

General Electric Capital Corp.’s next purchase in the property business, after buying Security Capital Group Inc. for $4 billion, may be strip mall owner Regency Centers Corp., analysts said.

With the purchase of Security Capital, the financing unit of General Electric Co. will take over a 60% stake in Regency. Among Security Capital’s investments, Regency is the only company in which Security Capital doesn’t own about a 100% stake.

GE Capital may team up with Kimco Realty Corp. to buy the remaining 40% of Regency, worth about $2.4 billion, analysts said. GE and Kimco, the largest U.S. strip shopping center owner, formed a joint venture in October to buy shopping centers.