Buyout firms circle Citi’s $1bn Tokyo call centre
SEVERAL private equity firms are circling Citigroup after it announced its intention to sell off a Japanese call centre.
Major buyout firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), Permira, Blackstone and Bain Capital are all understood to be interested in buying the centre, which is valued at up to $1bn (£620m).
Sources familiar with the situation said that of the interested parties, Blackstone and Permira had already submitted offers.
Citigroup, led by chief executive Vikram Pandit, has been offloading assets after it split into a “good bank” housing core banking operations and a separate unit containing assets earmarked for sale.
The Wall Street bank has already raised nearly $9bn from asset sales in Japan during the past three months but delayed the sale of the Tokyo call centre until market conditions improved.
On Monday, Citigroup sold its interest in three North American partner credit-card portfolios, which manage some $1.3bn in assets.