LONDON (Reuters) – A top investor in Barclays has launched the sale of a more-than 3% stake in the bank, the same day that the lender revealed a product sale blunder costing it an estimated 450 million pounds ($588.96 million).
The institutional seller has instructed Goldman Sachs to sell 575 million shares in Barclays through a public bookbuild process, according to a Goldman Sachs note seen by Reuters.
The sale is targeting a price range of 147.50 to 150.75 pence, representing a discount of 8.1% to 6.1% on today’s closing price, the note said.
Barclays’ shares had already fallen 4% on Monday, following the disclosure that it was being scrutinized for overselling structured products. The bank declined to comment on the stock sale.
Top shareholders with a more-than 3% stake in Barclays include the Qatar Investment Authority and Blackrock, according to Eikon data. Blackrock declined to comment, while QIA was not immediately available for comment.
($1 = 0.7641 pounds)
(Reporting by Iain Withers; editing by John O’Donnell and Mark Porter)