The Treasury is selling down another 5% of its stake in NatWest Group.

The bank remains majority state-owned, but the UK government’s stake will fall to 54.8%.

The disposal will take the form of a placing of 580 million shares to institutional investors.

READ NatWest buys back £1.1bn of shares from UK government

The sale is being run through UK Government Investments Limited, the entity which manages state financial interests, and comes after the sale of some 590 million shares worth £1.1bn was announced in March.

Settlement and delivery of the latest round of shares sold is expected to take place on 13 May 2021, with the bookbuilding process opened with immediate effect.

The latest sale price will be announced “in due course”.

The government is continuing to unwind its position after becoming the majority shareholder of RBS, now NatWest, in November 2008.

It took ownership of 58% of the bank’s ordinary shares alongside a tranche of preference shares in return for a bailout of £45.5bn during the financial crisis.

At the height of its ownership after the preference shares were converted, the government controlled some 84.4% of the bank’s ordinary shares.

The process of selling shares back to the private sector to unwind the position began in 2015.

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Originally Appeared On: https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/government-sells-down-another-5-of-natwest-stake-20210510