Citigroup Acquires Brooks Brothers' Credit Card Accounts

Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) added Brooks Brothers to its growing list of retail credit cards, acquiring the 197-year-old retailer's card portfolio for undisclosed terms.

Citi's agreement with Brooks Brothers follows recent card relationships with Best Buy, Volkswagen U.S. and CNH Industrial as well as seven contract renewals with top retailers, including Macy's, Inc., since the beginning of 2014, according to Citi.

The bank as of December 31 had 111.7 million Citi-branded and Citi retail services credit card accounts, with $114 billion in outstanding card loan balances.

Brooks Brothers, which operates more than 250 U.S. stores and roughly as many international locations, was sold in 2001 for $225 million to privately held Retail Brand Alliance.

Citi's retail services unit will provide private label and co-branded credit cards for both The Brooks Card and the Brooks Brothers Platinum MasterCard, issued with a license from Mastercard Inc (NYSE: MA).

Citi Retail Services' Craig Vallorano said the Brooks Brothers deal is "a significant new relationship for Citi Retail Services and continues our momentum on the heels of several new partnership agreements and renewals."

Claudio Del Vecchio, who heads Retail Brand Alliance and is the son of Luxottica Group SpA (NYSE: LUX) founder Leonardo del Vecchio, said the Citi deal "will help ensure that we continue to put the customer first."

Both Mastercard and Visa Inc (NYSE: V) opened higher Friday, but each were trading down by less than 1 percent recently.