Like many other financial institutions, investors are worried about the viability of CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT), which is a major business lender. Of course, the stock price has plunged - and there are many rumors swirling.

But today, there was some good news. That is, CIT has struck $1.8 billion in deals to unload its manufactured housing/home loan units. The stock is up 16% to $7.93.

There were actually two buyers. First, private equity firm Lone Star Funds agreed to a $1.5 billion transaction for the home lending division. Next, Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance will spend $300 million for the manufactured home segment.

These deals are certainly a big relief. Basically, CIT can now focus on its core business - and not deal with the headaches of the consumer area.

Actually, CIT has some big-time backing. For example, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) recently made a $3 billion infusion.

Yet, there are still many challenges. After all, CIT has had difficulties generating profits and the credit crunch isn't going away.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

CIT gets a $1.8 billion pickup originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.