Mumbai: Citigroup Inc has sold the 22.4 million share stake in insurer MetLife Inc's common stock it received from the sale of Travelers Life and Annuity to MetLife last July, the companies said on Friday.
MetLife said Citigroup had told it all of the MetLife shares were delivered to a third-party broker-dealer. MetLife spokesman Chris Breslin declined to say who the broker-dealer was and declined further comment.
MetLife said in a statement it believes that the broker-dealer has previously engaged in hedging a "substantial portion" of those shares.
As a result the sale to the broker-dealer shouldn't result in a material increase in the supply of MetLife shares in the market, the insurer said.
Citigroup spokeswoman Shannon Bell confirmed that the bank had sold the shares, but declined to disclose the sale price or how the proceeds will be used.
The largest US bank expects to report a third-quarter gain from the sale, and disclose the gain in its next quarterly report filed with regulators, Bell said. Since the acquisition was finalized last July, MetLife stock has appreciated more than $6 billion, or about 13 per cent.
Citigroup said in July of last year that it would realize a gain of about $2 billion on its $11.8 billion sale of Travelers to MetLife.
The price included $10.8 billion in cash and 22.4 million, or another $1 billion, in MetLife shares. It made the insurer the undisputed leader in US individual life sales.
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