Citigroup Fears Hedge Funds May Push for Breakup: FT

Citigroup executives are worried that hedge funds may pressure a breakup of the world’s biggest financial services company, the Financial Times reported.

The executives believe Citigroup needs to better explain to shareholders the value of keeping its businesses together, the FT said.

Citigroup, which has a market value of $260 billion, has long been considered too big to break up. But when it comes to hedge funds, one Citigroup executive told the FT: "Even Citigroup is not too big. It’s not impossible."

Concerns among the executives have heightened following the campaign by The Children’s Investment Fund, an activist investor group, to force the break-up of ABN Amro, the Dutch banking group. This has resulted in a battle between Barclays and a consortium of banks seeking to break it up.

Chuck Prince, Citigroup’s chief executive, is under pressure to boost its stagnant share price. Critics say the group is too big and complex to manage and that smaller specialist financial companies tend to perform better.