Barclays invites small shareholders into £4.5bn fundraising

by Gill Montia

Story link: Barclays invites small shareholders into £4.5bn fundraising

Barclays has clarified the positions of its small shareholders with regard to its fundraising.

Earlier this week, the bank announced that it was raising £4.5 billion in an issue of 1.58 billion shares.

The move involved Qatar Investment Authority, the authority’s chairman, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) each taking a stake in the bank.

The fundraising has taken the form of an “open” rather than a “rights” issue to avoid the problems encountered by the rights issues of HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland with volatile share prices.

Barclays has instead opted to bolster its balance sheet by negotiating the sale of new shares to foreign investors.

However, the bank’s small investors will have the opportunity to increase their holding by three new shares for every existing 14, at 282p each.

Those who prefer not to make a further investment in the group will see their holdings and earnings per share diluted.

The bank says it is in the process of sending out a share application form to its 725,000 small investors; the closing date for applications is 17th July, 11:00 am.