NWG Natwest Group Plc

By Sabela Ojea

UK Government Investments Ltd. said Tuesday that it has sold 580 million shares of NatWest Group PLC at a discount price via a book-build program as first announced late Monday.

UKGI--which operates as the government's center of expertise in corporate finance and governance--said the placing price a share was 190 pence ($2.68), down from NatWest's latest closing price of 197.05 pence on Monday.

The proceeds from the sale of the placing shares will be GBP1.1 billion and the U.K. government now owns 54.8% of the FTSE 100 lender, UKGI said.

In a separate statement, the HM Treasury said it continues to keep all options and timings under review for future sales.

This is the government's fourth sale of shares in the bank--previously known as Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC--since it took control during the 2007-2008 financial crisis. On March 19, the U.K. government reduced its shareholding to 59.8% from 61.7%.

Shares at 0710 GMT were down 7.35 pence, or 3.7%, at 189.70 pence.

Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 11, 2021 03:33 ET (07:33 GMT)

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