Citigroup sells $4.5bn stock, 50% above plan

Citigroup Inc on Wednesday said it has sold $4.5 billion of common stock, 50 per cent more than originally expected, at a discount to raise more capital, a sale that will dilute existing shareholders.

The sale means the largest US bank has raised more than $40bn of capital since late last year. Citigroup has struggled with debt write-downs and credit losses and posted net losses of close to $15bn over the last two quarters.

Citigroup said 178.1 million shares were priced at $25.27 each, a four per cent discount to its Tuesday closing price of $26.32 on the New York Stock Exchange.

It said it may sell another 17.8 million shares to meet demand, boosting the potential size of the offering to $4.95bn. The New York-based bank had on Tuesday said it planned to sell $3bn of common stock.

Shares of Citigroup fell 90 cents to $25.42 in premarket electronic trading.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.