Barclays to sell $6bn stake in BlackRock

Barclays has put its $6.1bn stake in US fund manager BlackRock up for sale in a surprise move.

Barclays said in a statement it is putting its entire holding in BlackRock - worth 20% of the business - up for sale, in a deal which will see BlackRock itself purchase up to $1bn of stock via a buyback. Barclays, which holds BlackRock common stock and Series B convertible participating preferred stock and is one of the largest shareholders in the business, received the stake in the business in 2009 after selling its own asset management firm to BlackRock. The sale of Barclays Global Investors (BGI) in 2009 came at a time when British banks were desperately trying to repair balance sh...