General Electric Co (GE.N) is near a deal to sell its private equity lending unit to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), a person familiar with the matter said, as the conglomerate takes a big step in a planned massive pullback from its finance operations. The deal with the CPPIB, Canada’s biggest pension fund, is expected to include GE’s Antares Capital business, a middle-market lender for private equity- backed transactions, the source said. It does not, however, include all of GE’s U.S.