Struggling financial services provider Citigroup is in informal talks with Blackstone Group and other private equity firms for selling its auto-loan business unit CitiFinancial Auto, a media report has said.
Blackstone and other private-equity leaders have kicked the tyres on the unit, which maintains a portfolio of roughly USD 16 billion in car loans, the New York Post reported today, quoting sources.
According to the newspaper, ?It?s unclear exactly how much the lending arm could fetch. However, potential buyers are aiming to bag its loan portfolio at a steep discount.
Appetite is described as strongest for the auto-loan servicing business.? CitiFinancial Auto also offers automobile loans under the names Arcadia Financial Ltd, Auto One Acceptance Corp and TranSouth Financial Corp. The outlook of auto-loan business is improving as the car business recovers.
Citing a source, the report said that while private equity has expressed interest, an actual deal could be weeks or months away, if at all.
The auto-loan business is one of several assets held in Citi Holdings, an entity that Citi created to hold so-called ?bad assets? that have been earmarked for sale, report said.