Bloomberg Campaign Says Company to Be Sold If Owner Elected

(Bloomberg) -- A spokesman for Michael Bloomberg's campaign said Tuesday that if elected president, Bloomberg would sell his eponymous financial-data and media company, in contrast with President Donald Trump remaining the head of his real-estate and branding firm.'Mike Bloomberg will release his tax returns. Mike Bloomberg will also sell Bloomberg LP. There will be no confusion about any of his financial holdings blurring the line between public service and personal profiteering. We will be 180 degrees away from where Donald Trump is on these issues, because Donald Trump is a walking financial conflict of interest,' Tim O'Brien said on CNN on Tuesday.Bloomberg would put his company in a blind trust, and then a trustee would handle the sale, the campaign said.'Mike will sell the company if elected president,' said his campaign spokeswoman, Galia Slayen.O'Brien told the Associated Press in a separate interview that the former New York mayor wouldn't allow a sale to a foreign buyer or private equity firm.A spokesman for Bloomberg LP, Ty Trippet, said that Bloomberg hadn't decided the future of his company yet.'As Mike has said numerous times, if elected president in November, he would either place the company in a truly blind trust or sell it. Currently, we're not for sale,' Trippet said.Trippet said later that putting the company in a blind trust would be the first step in the process toward a sale.O'Brien did not respond to messages seeking comment.(Updates with spokesman saying blind trust would be part of process in eighth paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Wendy Benjaminson in Washington at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Kevin WhitelawFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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