Citigroup has finally unloaded the rest of its minority stake in the Mumbai-based Housing Development Finance Corp. as part of its capital planning efforts, but will continue other business relationships with the company including investment and cash management services.
Late last week the bank disclosed it had sold 145.3 million shares of HDFC, which gave it a roughly 9.9% stake.
Overall, Citigroup could reap a pre-tax gain of $1.1 billion ($722 million after-tax).
The bank had begun whittling down its stake last June, when it sold off a smaller 1.5% chunk of HDFC. At the time Citi disclosed it wanted to reduce its stake below 10% to obtain relief ahead of new Basel III capital rules. But back then it said it did not believe it would sell additional shares.
