By Linda Chiem (June 1, 2015, 7:47 PM EDT) -- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is among the front runners to buy General Electric Co.'s U.S. private equity lending business, as GE accelerates plans to shed most of its finance operations, Bloomberg reported on Monday. CPPIB, Canada's largest pension fund manager, is working with Credit Suisse Group AG to arrange financing for a deal that would value the unit's equity at more than $4 billion, according to the Bloomberg report. No word yet on whether CPPIB will emerge as the winner for the unit, which also attracted bids from Apollo Global Management LLC, Ares Management LP and Guggenheim Securities. GE on Monday officially put the U.S. commercial lending and leasing unit of GE Capital up for sale, following through with plans to divest most of its financing arm as the conglomerate looks to streamline operations. The unit — which provides financing to midmarket companies to purchase or lease equipment, manage vehicle fleets and for leveraged buyouts — could reportedly bring in as much as $17 billion for GE. The company is looking to unload most of GE Capital, which took a hit during the financial crisis and was later tagged as a a "too big to fail" financial institution by federal regulators, opening it up to Federal Reserve supervision....