Divorce between Barclays and BlackRock. The Bank of England has announced it will divest 100% of its stake in the American giant of asset management. The stake held by the credit institution is equal to 19,6% of the capital, for a value of 6,1 billion dollars. BlackRock is aiming for a billion-dollar buyback, while the remaining shares will be sold to other investors.
The shares had been taken over by the banking group three years ago in an exchange operation (the US company in turn had acquired the Barclays Global Investors division). At the time, BlackRock stock was worth $227, but last September it dropped to $140 and Barclays had had to enter a £1,8bn write-down in its balance sheet.
Last Friday, at the close of the NYSE, BlackRock stock was worth $171,91. In early afternoon trading in London, Barclays shares were up 2,02%, at 179,65 pence.
