

Please try another search
(Corrects 12th paragraph, removing reference saying buyback would accelerate privatisation)
By Rachel Armstrong and Iain Withers
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's government on Thursday unveiled a blueprint for returning NatWest to majority private ownership within a year, more than a decade since bailing out the lender at the height of the global financial crisis.
The finance ministry said it had instructed Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to sell NatWest shares on its behalf in a scheme starting on Aug. 12 and running until Aug. 11, 2022.
NatWest shares have rallied 23% since the start of the year, supported by the recovery from the pandemic. But they are still far below the 502-pence level of the 2008 taxpayer rescue, making further substantial losses on the bailout likely.
At 1120 GMT, NatWest shares were trading at 196.80 pence, down 1% from the previous day's close.
The British state currently owns around 54.7% of NatWest after spending 45 billion pounds ($61.87 billion) bailing out the lender 13 years ago.
The government said it planned to sell up to 15% of the total volume of NatWest shares being traded on the market over the duration of the plan.
That would roughly equate to around 2 billion pounds, or 8.8% of shares, based on the last three month of trading volume, analysts at Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) estimated in a note.
Morgan Stanley will only sell shares at or above a price per share that the government has determined "delivers value for money for the taxpayer".
"This move will be welcomed by investors and should improve liquidity in the stock as well as reinforcing the government's desire to reduce/exit its shareholding, even if the plan weighs on the share price over the next 12 months," said Ronan Dunphy, banking analyst at Goodbody.
"If the market is judged to be able to digest the sell down without an uncomfortable price reaction, we wouldn't be surprised to see (the government) seek to reduce its shareholding further."
NatWest CEO Alison Rose welcomed the government's plan and said it showed the bank was on a better footing.
The plan to sell shares on the open market also opens the door to NatWest buying back up to 10% of its shares.
Details of the share sale come after the government sold 1.1 billion pounds worth of NatWest shares through a one-off stock offering in May.
NatWest also bought a similar chunk of stock directly from the government in March, but is prevented from launching another directed buyback for 12 months under company rules restricting it to buying around 5% of its stock through this route.
The government said it may also sell NatWest shares through other means such as accelerated bookbuilds or directing share buybacks.
($1 = 0.7273 pounds)
By Jody Godoy (Reuters) - Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:HOOD) has agreed in principle to settle a proposed class action filed by customers in the United States who claimed the...
(Reuters) - Global ratings agency S&P on Friday cut Ukraine's sovereign rating to 'CCC+/C' from 'B-/B', citing a larger fallout from Russia's military attack on the country....
By Pete Schroeder and Nivedita Balu WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking into Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk's...
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.