Citigroup is preparing to sell Prime Reinsurance Co., a subsidiary created five years ago to ease the spinoff of life insurer Primerica, according to people familiar with the process.
The unit, based in Burlington, Vermont, and known as Prime Re, could draw interest from Reinsurance Group of America Inc., Resolution Re and other firms that specialize in buying blocks of complicated insurance contracts, said two of the people, who asked not to be named because the process isn't public.
The people didn't provide a precise value for a sale. Prime Re had $7 billion in assets as of Sept. 30, 2013, according to a company presentation.
Jennifer Lowney, a Citigroup spokeswoman, declined to comment.
Chief Executive Officer Michael Corbat is selling assets and businesses such as subprime lender OneMain Financial Inc. and retail banks across Latin America to sharpen the firm's strategy. He's waited to sell assets until values rose, and the market for reinsurance mergers and acquisitions has picked up in recent months.
Citigroup and Primerica, which the New York-based bank spun off in a 2010 initial public offering, transferred some outstanding term life policies to Prime Re.
Spokesmen for Reinsurance Group and Resolution Re couldn't immediately be reached to comment.
