Centerbridge, Leucadia Bid for Citi Unit

Centerbridge Capital Partners and Leucadia National Corp. have launched a joint bid for Citigroup’s consumer lending unit, Reuters reported, citing a Bloomberg report. The size of the bid is not known. Citigroup has been selling assets as part of a move to simplify the company’s business. With their bid, Centerbridge and Leucadia join three other bids for the unit, which is known as OneMain, Reuters said.

(Reuters) – Centerbridge Capital Partners and Leucadia National Corp (LUK.N) have joined together to bid for Citigroup Inc’s (C.N) consumer lending unit, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

The two New York firms joined three other bids for the unit, known as OneMain, that Citi put up for auction earlier this year, Bloomberg reported.

The size of the bid was not immediately known.

New York-based Citigroup has been shedding assets as part of a broader effort to simplify the company’s businesses under Chief Executive Vikram Pandit.

OneMain provides both secured and unsecured personal loans for individual customers.

A Leucadia spokeswoman declined to comment. A Centerbridge spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Joe Rauch, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)