Citigroup sheds more than $6 billion in PE, hedge fund assets: WSJ

(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc has sold more than $6 billion in private equity and hedge fund assets in the past month to comply with new regulations that limit such investments, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the transactions. Citigroup last week sold a $4.3 billion private equity fund known as Citi Venture Capital International for an undisclosed price to Rohatyn Group, a private equity fund run by Nick Rohatyn, people told the Journal. On August 9, Citi sold a $1.9 billion emerging markets hedge fund to the fund's managers, the people said. After the recent deals, Citi Capital Advisors will have only one fund, the $2.5 billion North American private equity fund Metalmark Capital. The bank is trying to sell that fund to its management, people told the paper. (http://link.reuters.com/ges72v) The sales reflect Citi's decision to shed its private equity and hedge funds to comply with new regulations that restrict banks' holdings of alternative investments. The so-called "Volcker rule" is still being finalized, but is likely to be implemented within a few years. It prohibits banks from investing in any funds they do not manage. It also limits the amount of money banks can invest in private equity and hedge funds to 3 percent of high-quality tier one capital. Officials at Citigroup could not be reached for comment by Reuters outside of regular U.S. business hours. (Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Matt Driskill)