8-K

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                     SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                           Washington, D.C. 20549



                                  FORM 8-K


                               CURRENT REPORT


Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934




Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):  March 13, 1997



                          Transamerica Corporation
           (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


         Delaware                  1-2964             94-0932740
(State or other jurisdiction    (Commission        (I.R.S. Employer
    of incorporation)           File Number)      Identification No.)


        600 Montgomery Street
        San Francisco, California                        94111
 (Address of principal executive offices)             (Zip Code)



     Registrant's telephone number, including area code:  (4l5) 983-4000

 


                               Not applicable
       (Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)


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Item 5.  Other Events.

     On March 13, 1997, Transamerica Corporation issued the press release
attached as Exhibit 99.

Item 7.  Financial Statements and Exhibits.

     (c)  Exhibits.

          99  Press Release - March 13, 1997.


                                 Signatures

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized. 

TRANSAMERICA CORPORATION
(Registrant)

Burton E. Broome
Vice President and Controller

Date:  March 27, 1997

EX-99

                                                                    EXHIBIT 99

TRANSAMERICA TO SELL CONSUMER FINANCE OPERATIONS

SAN FRANCISCO (March 13, 1997) -- Transamerica Corporation announced today
that it intends to sell substantially all of its consumer finance operations,
headquartered in Los Angeles. 

The company said that the assets to be offered for sale include a portfolio of
approximately $3.6 billion of gross receivables, principally real estate-
secured loans; a network of about 420 branch offices in 44 states; and other
assets of approximately $100 million.  Goldman, Sachs & Co. has been retained
to assist in the transaction, and Transamerica said its target is to conclude
the sale by the end of the second quarter of 1997.

Transamerica also said it will separately sell or liquidate approximately $550
million of  real estate-secured loans, non-real estate-secured loans and
foreclosed properties. This amount includes approximately $300 million
remaining from the $1.1 billion of assets segregated at the end of the third
quarter of 1996.

The company said it intends to use cash proceeds from the sales, net of
expenses, to pay down debt, fund a new centralized operation, purchase its
common stock and for other corporate purposes.

"We have had a strategy in place since the third quarter of 1996 to convert
our consumer lending operations from a branch-based system to a more
centralized business model," commented Transamerica's chairman and chief
executive officer Frank C. Herringer. "We have determined that it is in the
best interests of our shareholders and other security holders to carry out
that strategy by selling substantially all of the existing business and
redeploying our capital, while moving ahead with a plan to build a new,
centralized real estate-secured lending business.

"We believe the consumer finance operation will be very attractive to a wide
universe of potential buyers," Herringer said.

Transamerica indicated that it would retain its broker-based mortgage business
based in Dallas, with $72 million of receivables, and a recently acquired
mortgage business headquartered in Florida, with approximately $160 million of
managed receivables.

San Francisco-based Transamerica Corporation, with assets of about $50
billion, offers specialized financial and life insurance products and services
to individuals and organizations worldwide. The company's major businesses, in
addition to consumer finance, are life insurance, commercial lending, leasing
and real estate information services.