Citigroup (NYSE: C) is in advanced talks to sell its global real-estate investment unit as part of an ongoing effort to slim down so that it can repay its federal debt, according to several sources.
Citigroup has developed a short-list of bidders for its Citi Property Investors unit, which owns commercial property in the U.S., Europe and Asia totaling between $5 and $10 billion. New York-based Citigroup’s website valued the unit’s capital and real-estate assets at $12.5 billion when it was last updated in June.
Citigroup, which is currently 27% owned by the federal government is facing ongoing pressure from regulars to sell some of its assets, generate new capital, and shore up its balance sheet. Commercial prices in the U.S. have dropped by 43% and may fall by as much as 55% since the October 2007 peak, according to a report from Moody’s dated November 23rd.
Two of the reported firms on Citigroup’s short list of buyers is investment firm Apollo Global Management and Australia’s Macquarie Group Ltd, according to a report on January 25th from PERE magazine.
