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Barclays close in on SA banking group
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Barclays is reported to have struck a deal to buy a controlling stake in South Africa's Absa banking group.
The deal, which follows seven months of negotiations, is expected to be made public very shortly. If confirmed, it will rank as the Barclay’s biggest acquisition since its purchase of the Woolwich for £5bn in 2000. It will also represent its biggest-ever buy overseas.
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Barclays operated for 80 years in South Africa before withdrawing in 1986 following a campaign by antiapartheid activists. And according to insiders, Barclays already has the support of Absa's biggest shareholder, Sanlam, and the black investment consortium Batho Bonke.
But winning round a number of minority investors, including Axa and Investec, is understood to have proved more problematic. Barclays would seem to be holding out the prospect of annual savings of at least £120m.
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