Citigroup expects $150 million gain on sale of Hilton cards to American Express

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc said on Tuesday it expects to record a $150 million pretax gain on the sale to American Express Co of a $1.2 billion credit card portfolio from its co-brand deal with Hilton hotels.

The disclosure was made in a quarterly filing by Citigroup and follows earlier announcements that American Express would be taking over issuing all of the Hilton co-branded cards.

Citigroup said the sale is expected to close in the first quarter and that the gain “approximates one year of revenues from the portfolio.”

(Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Bill Rigby)