Citigroup (NYSE: C) is seeing a number of clients begin to consider smaller acquisitions in their hunt for growth even as higher interest rates stymie the broader dealmaking environment.
While corporate chiefs are still eschewing larger, transformative deals, smaller clients are pursuing acquisitions with a $10 million to $20 million price tag, according to Tasnim Ghiawadwala, who leads the bank’s burgeoning commercial banking business.
“It’s not all doom and gloom quite frankly,” Ghiawadwala said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Still, she said, “it’s not cheap anymore to buy another company. You’ve got to make sure it’s really worth it, that you’re not going to overpay and the valuations are going go be there to see you through to the medium- and long-term.”
Ghiawadwala’s division is a key tenet of Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser’s plans to boost profits at Citigroup, where returns have long lagged rivals. The firm’s banking division, which includes the commercial bank along with corporate and investment banking, posted revenue of $1.71 billion in the first quarter, a 49 percent increase from a year earlier.
“We are seeing a lot of activity with our clients as they try to navigate the environment,” Ghiawadwala said, especially with “interest rates, which are proving to be definitely higher for longer. Clients are eagerly awaiting when the cuts are finally going to come.”
