11th May 2021 08:53
(Alliance News) -Â The UK government has cut its stake in lender NatWest to below 55%, it said on Tuesday, raising GBP1.1 billion in its latest share sale.
The placing price was 190 pence, a 3.6% discount to Monday's closing price of 197.05p. NatWest shares were down 3.4% at 190.35p in London on Tuesday, though at this level still up 14% since 2021 began.
The state sold 580.0 million shares in NatWest through an accelerated bookbuild to institutional investors, leaving its remaining holding at 6.34 billion shares.
This means the UK government now holds a 54.8% stake in NatWest, down from 59.8% previously. UK Government Investments Ltd - which was set up by former chancellor George Osborne to offload UK government-owned companies - first announced its intention to cut its NatWest stake after the market close on Monday.
Barclays Bank PLC, Citigroup Global Markets Ltd, Goldman Sachs International and Morgan Stanley & Co International PLC acted as joint bookrunners for the placing.
In mid-March, the UK government sold 590.7 million shares for GBP1.12 billion, reducing its stake to 59.8% from 61.7%.
The UK government first began building its majority stake in the bank from October 2008 during the financial crisis as it looked to inject funds into the banking system. As a result, the government ended up holding an 81% stake in the lender - called Royal Bank of Scotland Group at the time - after a hefty GBP45.5 billion taxpayer bailout.
By Lucy Heming;Â [email protected]
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