The deal will provide Citi with about $616 million of equity and is part of its strategy of selling non-core assets in an effort to retain the minimum tier 1 capital requirements.
Citi holds 24% of Redecard, with Banco Itaú and Unibanco, two leading Brazilian banks, holding a further 23.2% each. The three banks are reported to be selling about 15% of their shares through a $1.7 billion listing, with Citi reducing its holding share by 7% to 17%.
In July 2007, Redecard came to the market with an IPO on Bovespa, the Brazilian stock exchange. Despite the R$4 billion ($2.2 billion) deal being a relative success, Redecard stock did not fare well in the last six...