British bank Barclays announced it had agreed to sell a package of private equity interests, worth 520 million euros ($753 million), to an affiliate of French insurance group Axa.
“Barclays bank plc has signed a definitive agreement to dispose of a 520-million-euro portfolio of US and European private equity interests held and managed by Barclays Capital to AXA Private Equity,” it said in a statement.
“The portfolio includes investments in private equity funds as well as several direct private equity interests held by (investmen banking division) Barclays Capital.”
Barclays added that the purchase price exceeds the book value, while the sale is expected to result in a small profit and an increase in the bank’s core tier one capital.
The British lender, unlike many of its rivals, survived the global financial crisis without taking government support.
London, June 30, 2011 (AFP)
