Citigroup to sell BPO, tech arms in India; may write down $9 billion in Q2
27 Jun 2008
Mumbai: Financial services major Citigroup Inc will sell its business process outsourcing arm in India, Citigroup Global Services Ltd, and its technology and infrastructure outsourcing arm Citos amidst reports that the global bank could write down over $9 billion in the second quarter of the current year.
Citigroup could be close to finalising the deal with IBM Global Services, which is the lead contender for the assets, reports said. French information technology company Capgemini and India's Tata Consultancy Services are also in the race, the report added.
The sale of Citigroup's back-office operations in India, valued at around $1 billion, could fetch the beleaguered bank at least $800 million, the report added.
Analysts expect Citigroup Inc to report a second-quarter write-down of $9 billion and raise additional capital. Citigroup is likely to register a loss of 75 cents a share for the quarter, they said.
Merrill Lynch & Co Inc, the world's largest brokerage, is also expected to incur $4.2 billion of write-downs in the second quarter - a quarterly loss of $2 a share.