Barclays Share News (BARC)

Barclays has been given the green light by regulators to merge its African operations with Absa Group.Absa, the South African bank in which Barclays owns a controlling stake, will start trading under Barclays Africa Group in Johannesburg on August 2nd. The deal, announced in December, was approved by regulators in Kenya, Botswana and Ghana."Africa remains a core focus for growth in Barclays's global strategy," Maria Ramos, Absa's Chief Eexecutive Officer, said on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg. "This is very much part of fulfilling on that mandate."The transaction was originally meant to be completed in the first half of the year but was delayed due to regulatory constraints. Under the deal, Barclays will raise its stake in Absa to 62.3% from 55.5% in return for merging its operations with the South African lender. Barclay's businesses in Kenya, Mauritius, Botswana, Ghana, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia and Uganda and its Barclays Africa regional office will move to Absa.Barclays will receive shares worth about 18.3bn rand, as announced in December. The bank's shares rose 1.16% to 323.70p at 14:54 on Tuesday.RD