NEW YORK — Citigroup Inc., which has been disposing of its noncore assets, is in talks with Legg Mason Inc. about a possible sale of its asset management unit, The New York Times reported Thursday.
The division has $460 billion under management, though it has been hampered by fund outflows and regulatory trouble in recent years. Its profits are just 1% of Citigroup's bottom line, the Times said.
According to two executives, the deal, if it occurs, would consist of an asset swap, with Citigroup exchanging its asset management unit for Legg Mason's brokers, as well as cash and stock, the newspaper reported.
Both Citigroup and Legg Mason declined to comment Wednesday, the Times said.
Citigroup has $152 billion in fixed-income assets, and the combination of the two would make Legg Mason an even stronger fixed-income manager. Legg's $78 billion in mutual funds would gain significant scale by taking on Citigroup's $140 billion, most of which are sold under the Smith Barney brand, the Times reported.
