FORD Financial Services Group NEWS Contact: Mary Joseph, Ford Financial Services 313-322-4466 Bill Selover, USL Capital 415-627-9578 FORD SELLS USL CAPITAL'S RAIL SERVICES UNIT DEARBORN, Mich., May 23 -- Ford Motor Company today announced an agreement to sell all the assets of USL Capital's Rail Services business to Chicago-based First Union Rail Corp., the freight car leasing subsidiary of First Union Corp. The sale price is approximately $900 million, subject to adjustments at closing. Ford also said it is pursuing the sale of other USL Capital businesses. USL Capital, a diversified commercial financing and leasing company headquartered in San Francisco, is part of Ford's Financial Services Group. Ford began a strategic review of its nonautomotive financing businesses last fall and announced that the study could result in a partial or complete sale of USL Capital. "The company concluded that the highest value for these assets could be realized by selling the various pieces separately," said Ken Whipple, president of the Financial Services Group. The Rail Services unit, which includes over 26,000 rail cars, represents 7 percent of USL Capital's business. It has 30 employees located in San Francisco, Chicago and Houston. -2- Proceeds from the sale of the Rail Services unit will be used to pay down Financial Services Group debt, further strengthening its capitalization, including the pay down of a portion of USL Capital's short-term debt. Ford purchased USL Capital, then known as U.S. Leasing, in 1987 for $512 million. USL Capital manages assets of $9.7 billion, has 640 employees and 70 branches in the U.S. Pre-tax earnings were $300 million in 1995. The sale of the Rail Services unit is expected to close by the end of July and is subject to obtaining various regulatory approvals. USL Capital's five other businesses are: Business Equipment Financing, Fleet Services, Transportation and Industrial Financing, Municipal and Corporate Financing, and Real Estate Financing. Discussions continue with potential buyers, and the company expects to announce a series of sales on an ongoing basis and complete the sale of the majority of USL Capital's assets by the end of summer. # # # 5-23-96