Washington, April 26: The US government moved one step closer Monday to selling its 27-percent stake in bailed-out financial giant Citigroup, saying it would soon offer 1.5 billion shares to private buyers.
The shares are part of the 7.7 billion shares of Citigroup the government took as collateral for a $25-billion cash infusion in late 2008 as part of Washington’s rescue of the finance industry. Citi has already paid back $20 billion of a separate loan.
The sale marks the latest move by President Barack Obama’s administration to extricate itself from a series of unprecedented market interventions taken to prevent Wall Street’s collapse in 2008.
In a statement, the US Treasury said it had filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission to prepare for the sale.
Morgan Stanley will act as Treasury’s sales agent, earning 0.3 cents for each share sold on electronic trading systems and 1.75 cents for shares sold through other means, according to the filing.
–Agencies