Barclays bo prodal preostali 7.4-odstotni delež v južnoafriški Absi

British banking giant Barclays is to sell its remaining 7.4% stake in South African banking group Absa, marking the end of an almost century-long tenure on the continent.

The offloading of 63,072,652 shares at ZAR 169 (£8.51) each will raise approximately £538 million, Barclays says, with an expected loss of £31 million on the investment.

Barclays will sell its Absa shares to institutional investors via an accelerated bookbuild placing.

The firm bought a majority stake in the South African lender in 2005 and rebranded the group to Barclays Africa, but the name switched back to Absa Group in 2018.

Banka napovedal v 2016 it planned to leave Africa and consolidate after a tumultuous year and instead focus on its UK and corporate arms.

At the time, Barclays said it planned to sell its then 62% stake in Barclays Africa Group Limited (BAGL) – a merger of Absa Group and Barclays’ African operations – over the coming years. It has been slowly reducing its shareholding since and sold a similar 7.4% stake in April for £526 million.

Glede na CityAM, Barclays’ only remaining presence in Africa will now be a representative office in Johannesburg, supporting its investment, private and corporate banking clients.