Wednesday June 25, 12:13 PM
Barclays Outlines £4.5bn Cash Injection
By Sky News
Barclays Bank has become the latest British bank to call on investors for a cash injection, outlining plans for a £4.5bn share issue. The bank's board of directors said it would be issuing an extra 1,576 million shares to shore up
its finances.The announcement follows cash calls from fellow banking giants RBS and HBOS. Barclays said a raft of so-called sovereign wealth funds and foreign groups had agreed to pump money into the bank in return for discounted shares. These included the Qatar Investment Authority and Challenger, a group backed by the Qatar royal family. Japanese banking giant Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation has agreed to invest around £500m by buying shares at a 4.7% discount from last night's closing price. Barclays added that existing shareholders would also be offered the chance to buy shares under the scheme. Group chief John Varley said: "Through our capital raising today we strengthen our capital base and give ourselves additional resources to pursue our strategy of growth through earnings diversification. "Our ability to capture the opportunities is reinforced by the new and strengthened relationships we have announced today." Shares in Barclays rose 5% in early trade as the market cheered confirmation of the widely-speculated cash raising scheme.
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