Barclays sells another tranche of African operation
The British bank’s stake in Absa’s JSE-listed parent company is now just 14.9%
UK bank Barclays has reduced its stake in Absa’s JSE-listed parent, Barclays Africa Group, to 14.9% from 23.4% in June.Barclays, which acquired 56.4% of Absa in 2005 and increased its holding to 62.3% in 2013, announced its intention to divest its African operations in 2016.Barclays Africa Group said on Friday morning that 1.5% of the shares had been transferred to a broad-based black economic empowerment scheme from its former UK parent, as agreed in June.Barclays has agreed to sell 7% of its former South African subsidiary to the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) at R136.09 per share, a 14% discount to Barclays Africa Group’s R157.78 closing price on Thursday.This transaction still needed regulatory approval, Friday’s statement said.On Thursday evening, S&P Global Ratings issued a statement saying it was cutting its credit rating of five South African banks a notch, as expected following its downgrade of the country’s sovereign rating on Friday night.Absa has historically benefi...
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