Surprised nobodys posted this yet. I was watching NBR when I heard the news that Citibank bought Sears credit card business for a cool 6B dollars. Good luck to those with exising Sears accounts, your about to be upgraded big time. Heres the link http://biz.yahoo.com/n/c/c.html
FOR REALS?????????????????? DON'T PULL MY LEG!!!!!!!!!!! My luck~~~I thought PROVIDIAN might have bought it...OR EVEN WORSE CHASE!!! SEARS STORE CARDHOLDER SINCE 1979...
OK!!!! FROM YOUR LINK The ratings confirmation follows Sears' announcement earlier today that it has agreed to sell its credit business to Citigroup (NYSE:C - News) for total consideration of approximately $32 billion dollars, which represents a roughly 10 percent premium against gross credit card receivables.
BUT THE BIG QUESTION IS...DO I COMBINE WITH CITIBANK??? DO THEY CHANGE THE STORE CARD I HAVE NOW TO A SEARS M/C AND INCREASE THE CREDIT LIMIT 20 TIMES WHAT I HAVE LIKE OTHERS HAVE GOT??? NEW LIMIT $100,000+ OR DO THEY DUMP ME BECAUSE I ONLY USE THE 10% OFF DAYS AND THE 0.00% OFFERS???
Hmmm. I have a Citi co from 2000 but an open and current Sears store card. Should I close it now so it says closed by consumer instead of closed by credit grantor?
Re: Re: Citi bought Sears' card business I ASSUME they would NOT close it (SEARS) on you... They probably will "RUN" it for a bit as 2 SEPERATE COMPANIES like they did with ASSOCIATES and AT&T DIVISION... JUST A GUESS
Re: Re: Citi bought Sears' card business I was debating IF I should hurry up and add my wife as an "AU" on the SEARS account...
I say try to combine. Man, if you've been a Sears cardholder since '79 and add the wife as an AU, you might get an outrageous!!! CL at your existing Citi APR. OH, just think of the possibilities!!!
I CAN ADD... 2 "AU" 1 "JOINT" ADD MY YOUNGEST (16~~17 END OF AUGUST)...HE WAS BORN 7 YEARS AFTER THE ACCOUNT WAS OPENED!!!
I COULD SEE $100,000+ CITIBANK is already over $20,000 but SEARS has "STUCKAGE" a little over $5,000...for 5 years I THINK!!!
ok i have an account since july 02 with sears. Does that mean on the cr report that it will reflect a new account opened whenever the merger is complete or reflect the date opened from sears. Also, will the sears account be listed as "transferred or closed" Anyone have any idea?
Re: Re: Citi bought Sears' card business AT THIS TIME...WE DON'T KNOW... You "MAY" get a "NEW" account with the 07/02 date... It could be a CITIBANK VISA/MC or it may be SEARS M/C or it may just stay as a SEARS store card... IT IS ALL GUESS AT THIS POINT
Re: Re: Citi bought Sears' card business Here's my guess... Sears is an old respected brand, and the Sears Charge is an old respected brand. Citibank didn't buy the portfolio so they could demolish that brand equity. They'll probably continue to run the Sears-branded cards with little discernible change to consumers. Ok, at least I hope that's the case... My Sears tradeline is 20+ years old -- my oldest -- so it's a score-builder. Time will tell. :/ Doc
Re: Re: Citi bought Sears' card business What was interesting to me was that the Wall Street Journal said that Citibank is going to eat much or all of the cost of Sears' 0% promotions. Thus, not to get too optimistic, but it appears citibank will have every interest in making sure cards are used for other things rather than the 0% offers.....or will they do like household and only have offers where all the interest gets added back on if you dont complete full payment by the end of the 0% period????
I have a store card and a Sears M/C "toy" card. I have been thinking for weeks of closing the M/C because of the low limit and ridiculous APR. Wonder if CITI will give me anywhere near the great rates I have on CITI Plat. and AT&T? Also, I wonder if Discover will be included in the package.
Hmm maybe that explains it. Check your reports, as of 7/2003 update my sears account states transferred/sold????? This is only on Experian so far.
Here are the paragraphs from the Wall St Journal article: Although the deal will boost Citigroup's credit-card receivables, it will also carry some risk. Under a 10-year marketing-and-servicing alliance, Citigroup will absorb costs associated with Sears's 0% financing program, which Sears said will save it more than $200 million a year. Sears also said that it expects to receive approximately $200 million in annual performance payments from Citigroup under the 10-year agreement, and that it expects to return $4 billion to $4.5 billion to shareholders as a result of the deal.
Sears, Roebuck and Co. (ticker: S, exchange: New York Stock Exchange) News Release - 7/15/2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sears to Sell Credit and Financial Products Business to Citigroup; Sears To Net $6 Billion in Pre-Tax Cash Proceeds Companies to Establish 10-Year Strategic Alliance Generating Additional Performance Payments, Cost Savings HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Jul 15, 2003 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Sears, Roebuck and Co. (NYSE: S) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its entire Credit and Financial Products business to Citigroup (NYSE: C) for approximately $32 billion, representing approximately a 10 percent premium to Sears' $29 billion gross domestic credit card receivables portfolio. As part of the transaction, Sears and Citigroup will also enter into a long-term marketing and servicing alliance with an initial term of 10 years. The transaction has been approved by both companies' boards of directors and is expected to close by year-end 2003, subject to customary regulatory review and closing conditions. Under the terms of the transaction, at closing Sears will net pre-tax cash proceeds of approximately $6 billion, which represents approximately a $3 billion premium on receivables and approximately $3 billion of Sears' net invested capital. Strategic Alliance Under the long-term marketing and servicing alliance, Citigroup will provide credit and customer service benefits to Sears' proprietary and Gold MasterCard holders. As part of the alliance, Sears expects to receive approximately $200 million in annual performance payments from Citigroup based on items such as new account and credit sales generation activities. In addition, Sears expects to realize annual savings of more than $200 million as Citigroup will absorb costs associated with Sears' zero percent financing program. Upon completion of the transaction, substantially all of the approximately 8,300 employees of Sears' Credit and Financial Products business will become employees of Citigroup and Citigroup also will assume ownership of the business' operating facilities. "This is a great deal for Sears, its customers and shareholders," said Alan J. Lacy Sears chairman and chief executive officer. "Our customers will enjoy broader credit and financial products opportunities and continued high levels of service, while Sears gains an additional source of profitability and greater financial flexibility. We are delighted to be involved in a strategic alliance with Citigroup. They are a world leader in proprietary, co-branded and general purpose cards, with world class technology, powerful financing capabilities and excellent customer relationship management skills." Lacy added, "This strategic action will also create significant value for our investors by accelerating progress toward building a Sears that is completely focused on growing our core retail and related services business, further simplifying our organization, strengthening our financial position and returning substantial proceeds to shareholders. With the completion of this transaction, Sears will stand as a focused, well-financed retail leader, with substantial earnings and a strong balance sheet." Sears' domestic credit card business includes 59 million total accounts, of which 23 million are active. This portfolio represents the eighth largest in the U.S. and includes the largest remaining in-house private label portfolio. Both the Sears proprietary card and Sears MasterCard will continue to be offered through Citigroup and the transition will be transparent to Sears customers. "The combination of Sears' exceptional distribution channel and customer base and Citigroup's industry leadership position in cards and excellence in customer service will create powerful new growth opportunities for both companies," said Robert B. Willumstad, president of Citigroup and chairman and chief executive officer of Citigroup's Global Consumer Group. "Citigroup looks forward to delivering even higher levels of service to Sears' 59 million credit card customers, capitalizing on new opportunities to expand this portfolio, and leveraging our proven ability to maximize the potential of the card business." Use of Proceeds Proceeds from the transaction are intended to be used primarily to retire debt, return cash to Sears shareholders and for general corporate purposes. After retirement of debt, the company expects that approximately $4 billion to $4.5 billion in cash will be available. Following the expected distribution, Sears expects to have approximately $1.5 billion of debt, net of cash reserves held for future paydown of remaining outstanding debt. Sears is a leading retailer in the U.S. and Canada, with $35.7 billion in merchandise sales and services revenues in 2002. The company is the No. 1 retailer of home appliances, fitness equipment and lawn mowers, and holds leading positions in many other categories. In addition, Sears is the exclusive provider of several leading brands, including Kenmore, Craftsman, Lands' End and DieHard. Sears owns a substantial direct-to-customer operation and is the largest product repair service provider in North America, making 14.5 million service calls annually The link: http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=S&script=410&layout=7&item_id=431540 Citigroup press relese link: http://www.citigroup.com/citigroup/press/2003/030715a.htm
ok I called Sears gold m/c cs at 8006698488 and the representative told me that the sears propriety card (store card) and sears gold m/c will stay the same. No new card will be issued by citi, although citi will manage the new accounts. Also a link provided by a previous cnetter explains as well. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yho...o&guid={CDCFC43C-B525-400B-BA02-F86A7BC84875} "Citi will become the nation's leading private label issuer. As part of the deal, Citigroup will continue to offer Sears proprietary card and Sears Mastercard."
Re: Re: Citi bought Sears' card business My Sears card shows open and current on Exp. I doubt this would affect accounts for at least a month or two at a minimum. As others have said there is a good chance it won't affect them at all. I would call Sears about the transfered notation.
