Barclays gets approval to sell shares in African arm
Barclays has received regulatory approval for the sale of its remaining stake in its Barclays Africa Group, a unit of the business said on Wednesday, Reuters report.
South Africa’s minister of finance has approved the deal, ABSA Bank said, paving the way for Barclays to begin selling its remaining 50 percent stake in Barclays Africa Group.
Johannesburg-based ABSA Bank is the main business inside Barclays Africa Group. Barclays is also selling Barclays Bank Egypt and Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe, which sit outside Barclays Africa Group.
Barclays shares rose as much as 2.5 percent in London on Wednesday, after Sky News earlier reported the British bank would sell shares in Barclays Africa worth 1.6 billion pounds ($2.1 billion) as soon as Wednesday evening.
Barclays said in early 2016 it would sell its 50 percent stake in Barclays Africa Group as part of a strategy to refocus on the United States and Britain.
The bank gave itself two to three years to complete the deal and sold 12 percent into the market last May via an “accelerated bookbuild” process.
Barclays is partly relying on funds raised from the stake sale to meet capital requirements that were identified as a concern by the Bank of England in a November “stress test” aimed at gauging its ability to withstand financial shocks.
The planned sale would take Barclays’ interest in the Barclays Africa from 50 percent down to 28 percent, Sky News said.
Shares in Barclays Africa fell 4.5 percent in Johannesburg.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the Sky News report about the timing of the stake sale.
“The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has been engaging with Barclays Plc, BAGL and the Prudential Regulation Authority of the United Kingdom regarding the divestment process. These engagements have been constructive and are ongoing,” South Africa’s central bank said in an emailed response to questions ahead of the announcement by ABSA.
Barclays Group and Barclays Africa declined to comment.
Courtesy Reuters