Reuters: Hot Stocks: UPDATE 2-UK raises 3.2 bln pounds in Lloyds share sale

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UPDATE 2-UK raises 3.2 bln pounds in Lloyds share sale Sep 17th 2013, 07:12 Tue Sep 17, 2013 3:12am EDT * Placing priced at 75 pence/share * Sale raises 3.2 billion pounds for UK government * UK FinMin: share sale an "important step" * UK pumped 20.5 bln stg into Lloyds in 2008 crisis (Rewrites first paragraph, adds details on pricing) By Matt Scuffham and Steve Slater LONDON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Britain has raised 3.2 billion pounds ($5.1 billion) from the sale of a 6 percent stake in Lloyds Banking Group, marking a milestone in the economy's recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. Britain pumped a combined 66 billion pounds into Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland in 2008, leaving it with a 39 percent shareholding in Lloyds and an 81 percent stake in RBS. The country's Conservative-led coalition government sees the sale as an important step in its plan to recover taxpayers money and repair the UK economy and the disposal - plans for which were announced late on Monday - will be a boost to the Conservatives ahead of their annual party conference later in September. "This is another step in the long journey in putting right what went so badly wrong in the British economy," Finance Minister George Osborne said on Tuesday. "It's another step in repairing the banks, it's another step in getting the money back for the taxpayer, and it's another step in reducing our national debt." The stock was sold to unnamed investment institutions at 75 pence per share, a 3 percent discount to Lloyds' closing price on Monday and ahead of the government's average buy-in price of 73.6 pence, meaning the government will make a profit of 61 million pounds. The sale will reduce the government's debt by 586 million pounds, as the shares were on its books at 61.2p, taking into account fees already repaid by Lloyds. Analyst Jo Dickerson at brokerage Jefferies said the sale "was unequivocally positive" for both Lloyds and RBS. "The simple manner in which the shares were placed will no doubt be welcomed by investors. We can only hope that the rest of the government's stake in Lloyds and RBS is disposed of in such an effective manner," he said. UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the body which is in charge of managing the state's holdings in the two banks, sold the shares to financial institutions after Monday's London market close through a fast track process known as an accelerated bookbuild. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Cazenove and UBS Investment Bank were joint book runners. Lazard acted as capital advisor. The sale was 2.8 times covered by demand from investors, a source with direct knowledge of the transaction told Reuters. The government's stake in Lloyds will be reduced to 32.7 percent from 38.7 percent. It has agreed not to sell any more shares in the bank for 90 days. ($1 = 0.6275 British pounds) (Editing by David Holmes) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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