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* Sale includes Diners Club business in U.S., Canada

* Terms not disclosed

* Transaction expected to close by March 31

* Bank of Montreal parent bolsters corporate card business
(Adds details on acquisition)

NEW YORK, Nov 24 (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc (C.N) said it
agreed to sell its Diners Club North America credit card
business to Canada’s BMO Financial Group (BMO.TO) as it sheds
unwanted assets and focuses on its main units.

The agreement gives BMO exclusive rights to issue Diners
Club cards in the United States and Canada. It will also more
than double the company’s corporate card business, as many
business travelers use Diners Club cards.

BMO — also known as Bank of Montreal — will add nearly
US$1 billion of outstanding customer bills and US$7.8 billion
of card transactions.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the
companies expect the deal to close before the end of March,
pending regulatory approvals.

Diners Club is part of Citi Holdings, a portion of
Citigroup that includes troubled or underperforming assets that
the New York-based bank hopes to sell or wind down. Citigroup’s
main businesses, including retail and investment banking, are
in an entity called Citicorp.

Diners Club offered the first charge card to be accepted by
multiple companies, starting in 1950. Citi bought the business
in 1981, and in 2008, sold the non-North American charge card
network to Discover Financial Services. (DFS.N)

Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit is casting offassets after the bank took $45 billion of taxpayer money in a
series of federal bailouts.

The bank said the Diners Club transaction was not expected
to materially affect its net income or capital ratios.

Under the agreement, Citigroup will continue to support the
Diners Club business until it is fully integrated with BMO.

BMO said Diners Club represents a long-term strategic fit
within its commercial card business and allows it to expand
offerings to clients.

Citigroup shares closed Monday at $4.28 on the New York
Stock Exchange. While those of Bank of Montreal closed at
C$53.55 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
($1=$1.05 Canadian)
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Euan Rocha; Editing by Lisa
Von Ahn and Maureen Bavdek)
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