Citigroup Inc. plans to sell or split off its $10 billion Citi Private Equity unit, expanding the list of money-management businesses the U.S. bank is disposing of to reduce debt. Citi Private Equity, which takes minority stakes in companies and invests in other buyout funds, oversees about $2 billion of Citigroup’s money.
Citigroup, 27 percent owned by the U.S. government following a bailout in 2008, is selling almost a third of its $1.86 trillion of assets under regulatory pressure to shrink. Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit plans to keep a smaller buyout unit the bank bought in late 2007,
Citigroup plans to keep Metalmark Capital LLC, a buyout firm it agreed to buy for an undisclosed sum in December 2007. Headed by former Morgan Stanley executive Howard Hoffen, 46, Metalmark oversees almost $3.8 billion in several funds, one person said. It invests in energy, health care, financial and industrial companies, according to Metalmark’s Web site.
