Treasury Department to sell 7.69 billion Citigroup shares

[bobola]

“Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Treasury Department and Citigroup Inc. have begun discussing how to sell the 34 percent stake that the government acquired in the rescue of the bank, people familiar with the matter said.

The Treasury, which owns 7.69 billion common shares after a recent preferred-stock conversion designed to shore up the bank’s capital, may start unloading the stake as soon as October, one of the people said. It aims to sell the holdings over the next six to eight months, the person said.

A sale, a year after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy, would bring Citigroup Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit closer to extricating the company from the bailout program while allowing the government to claim a profit. Because the New York-based bank’s stock price has gained since $25 billion of bailout funds were exchanged for common shares, the Treasury is sitting on a paper profit of $9.77 billion.

“Given the conversion and what’s happened to the stock price, it is likely that the government would make money on it,” said Moshe Orenbuch, an analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG who rates the shares “neutral.”

Citigroup’s stock fell 22 cents, or 5 percent, to $4.30 in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange as of 10:10 a.m. That represents a 32 percent premium over the Treasury’s conversion price of $3.25.

The planning is in the early stages, and some transactions may need regulatory approvals, the people familiar with the matter said. Under one scenario, the shares would be sold to public investors in blocks over six to eight months. In another, the government may sell a small amount of stock daily or weekly, said the people, who declined to be identified because the talks are private. Under a third option, the shares would be sold at once in a managed offering. “

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=acs7LZGlwiYU

Will be interesting to see how the stock sale deal(s) work out....

[Slimprofits]

Re: Treasury Department to sell 7.69 billion Citigroup shares

Thoroughly enjoying how this is being portrayed on CNBC, Fox News and Fox Business.

Employees of and people in charge of Citi are all victims of greedy consumers and government meddling and the selling of these shares will finally free Citi from it's oppressed status. And that even minimum capital ratio rules amount to a "government takeover" of the financial system.

Like I've said elsewhere on this forum and Metalman has recently expanded on, the duped on the "right" in the U.S. will in the name of phony free markets, stand in the way of even truly righteous attempts in the future to take down F.I.R.E. The rejection of Ron Paul's campaign in 2008 by mainstream conservatives was just a preview of what was and still is to come.

[metalman]

Re: Treasury Department to sell 7.69 billion Citigroup shares

Thoroughly enjoying how this is being portrayed on CNBC, Fox News and Fox Business.

Employees of and people in charge of Citi are all victims of greedy consumers and government meddling and the selling of these shares will finally free Citi from it's oppressed status. And that even minimum capital ratio rules amount to a "government takeover" of the financial system.

Like I've said elsewhere on this forum and Metalman has recently expanded on, the duped on the "right" in the U.S. will in the name of phony free markets, stand in the way of even truly righteous attempts in the future to take down F.I.R.E. The rejection of Ron Paul's campaign in 2008 by mainstream conservatives was just a preview of what was and still is to come.

wait until fox/cnbc/npr/cbs turn their guns on us gold & silver hoarders... then the right wing saps will finally see who they've been backing.

[we_are_toast]

Re: Treasury Department to sell 7.69 billion Citigroup shares

Recently, the administration has strongly hinted that they don't like that the big guys have gone back to the same methods that got us in this mess. They also have said there will be no more bailouts.

Everybody knows that with all the foreclosures and bankruptcies since last fall, the banks have to be in worse shape then they were in then. And without mark-to-fantasy, many of the big guys would be declared insolvent.

There also seems to be little chance of getting real reform through a congress where almost all the Republicans, and too many Democrats have already been bought by the finance industry.

I'm beginning to wonder if the Government is trying to get its money out of the industry before it starts letting some more Lehman Brothers type bankruptcies happen. A one by one failure of some finance giants would send a strong message that the Gov wants tough regulations, it would be applauded by the general public (for awhile), it would give them political cover (damned if we do, damned if we don't), and the Federal Reserve may already be prepared to pump up smaller banks to keep the credit going.

Now where did I put that big tinfoil hat?

[don]

Re: Treasury Department to sell 7.69 billion Citigroup shares

Pre (before 1950)-National Security State Conservative:

Avoid Foreign Entanglements, especially military adventures.

Fiscally responsible government at all levels.

Smaller government better.

Personal liberties are an essential bedrock of a republic.

Post-National Security Conservative, aka Neoliberal:

Never saw a war they didn't like- military adventures? Yahoo!

Deficits don't matter....

Washington? Always, relentlessly, BIGGER....

Bill of Rights? A scrap of paper.

When I raise these points with my "conservative" friends I'm labeled a Liberal! Self-described FIRE conservatives are more easily manipulated than clueless FIRE "liberals". No contest-o!

[pwcmba]

Re: Treasury Department to sell 7.69 billion Citigroup shares

Can treasury sell AIG shares too? How about as many shares to be sold until it gets to it's true value zero (0).