Barclays Set to Sell 1.5 Billion Pound Stake in Africa Business

LONDON/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Barclays will sell shares worth 1.5 billion pounds in Barclays Africa Group the bank said on Wednesday, marking another stage in its exit from the continent to focus more on the United States and Britain.

Barclays said it would sell the shares to large investors, including South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC), in its second such sale since the British bank announced in early 2016 its intention to offload most of its African business.

Barclays is partly relying on funds raised from the 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 deal “represents a key milestone in the execution of our strategy and the restructuring of Barclays,” Barclays CEO Jes Staley said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.

South Africa’s finance minister has approved the deal, ABSA Bank, which forms the bulk of Barclays Africa Group said earlier on Wednesday. Barclays is also selling Barclays Bank Egypt and Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe, which sit outside Barclays Africa Group.

Barclays shares rose as much as 3 percent in London on Wednesday before giving up those gains.

The bank said it would sell 187 million shares in Barclays Africa, with PIC acting as an anchor investor to buy 59 million of the shares. Based on Barclays Africa’s closing share price of 139 rand a share, the market value of the stake being sold is around 1.52 billion pounds.

The British bank said in March 2016 it would sell most of its 62.3 pct stake in Barclays Africa Group. This latest sale should reduce its shareholding to around 28 pct, with the bank aiming eventually for a stake of around 15 pct.

Barclays gave itself two to three years to complete the sale. It sold 12 percent into the market last May via an “accelerated bookbuild” process. But the bank has since failed to sell any more shares, hindered by the regulatory delay and political upheaval in South Africa.

Barclays Africa shares have fallen by 2 percent in rand terms since the group’s parent company announced its intention to sell in March 2016.

Barclays will pay its African subsidiary 765 million pounds to cover the costs of the separation, the bank said in a separate statement, confirming an announcement in February. It will also contribute around 110 million pounds towards the establishment of a broad based black economic empowerment scheme, Barclays said.

(Reporting by Lawrence White and Tiisetso Motsoeneng, additional reporting by TJ Strydom; Editing by Mark Potter, Greg Mahlich and Jane Merriman)