Political chaos is hindering Barclays’s bid to sell its SA division
Barclays is increasingly looking at selling its remaining 50% stake in chunks as it is struggling to find a strategic buyer that will satisfy SA’s regulators, sources have said
Barclays’s plan to sell its African business and pull out of the continent are being hindered by SA’s political upheaval and credit-rating downgrades, according to banking sources and fund managers. The British bank gave itself 2-3 years to sell its controlling stake in Johannesburg-based Barclays Africa when it announced the plan in early 2016, and sold 12% last May in an "accelerated bookbuild" — a share sale held over a short period of time. It had been planning another accelerated bookbuild in the last two weeks but pushed it back because of concern about investor appetite due to political and economic uncertainty, according to a banking source familiar with the plans. The source, who asked not to be named as they are not authorised to speak publicly, did not say when the deal might now take place. A spokesperson for Barclays in London declined to comment. SA has been mired in business uncertainty since late 2016 when the ANC pledged to radically transform the economy, following...
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