U.K. Government to Re-start Sale of Its Lloyds Banking Group Stake

By Max Colchester

The U.K. government Friday announced it will re-start the privatization of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LLOY.LN) by drip selling shares into the market.

The British government, which owns a 9.1% stake in Lloyds following a bailout in 2009, said in a statement that it had ditched a plan to sell its stake via a retail offering to members of the public. Instead Morgan Stanley will be appointed to slowly sell the shares over the next 12 months.

"I have listened to the experts. Ongoing market volatility means it is not the right time for a retail offer," U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said in a statement.

Unlike a previous plan to shed the stake, Mr. Hammond didn't pledge to sell the shares above the price the government paid for them. Lloyds shares currently trade at 53 pence, well below the average 73 pence buy-in price paid by British taxpayers. Following the June Brexit vote, Lloyds' shares have lost a quarter of their value, raising questions about whether the Treasury would exit the bank soon. Analysts say that lower interest rates in the U.K. could pinch future bank profits.

So far, the Treasury has recouped around GPB16.9 billion ($21.4 billion) from previous Lloyds share sales. British taxpayers pumped just over GBP20 billion into the lender to save it from collapse during the financial crisis.

Write to Max Colchester at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 07, 2016 09:34 ET (13:34 GMT)

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