The government is done with its first sale of Citi stock, but it isn’t done selling.
Treasury said Wednesday afternoon that it received $6.2 billion in its first sale of Citi (C) shares and added that it “expects to continue selling its shares in the market in an orderly fashion.”
The government sold 1.5 billion shares over the past month through Morgan Stanley and has arranged to sell that much again between now and June 30. The agreement gives Morgan Stanley, as Treasury’s investment banker, “discretionary authority to sell an additional 1.5 billion shares under certain parameters,” the government said.
The feds got 7.7 billion shares of the giant bank last summer after the company converted some preferred shares to common to strengthen its capital base. The government announced last month it would start selling the shares, just as the market got wobbly and bank stocks started falling. Since then, Citi stock has tumbled almost 21%.
Even so, at a recent $3.86, Citi is still handily above the $3.25 a share the government paid for the stock, and as long as it remains in that range the sales will likely continue. If the stock stays within the prescribed range, the government’s stake in Citi could fall to 4.7 billion shares by midyear. That would take the feds’ holding down to 16% from a recent 27%.
Whatever happens to Citi’s stock price, Treasury will be on hold in early July as Wall Street awaits news of the bank’s second-quarter earnings release.