LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - Britain sold 4.2 billion pounds($6.9 billion) of shares in Lloyds Banking Group to cutits stake in the country's largest retail bank to 25 percent andput it on course for a complete exit in the next year at aprofit.
UK Financial Investments, the body that manages Britain'sstakes in Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland, said onWednesday it sold a 7.8 percent stake in Lloyds, or 5.6 billionshares, at 75.5 pence a share, a 4.6 percent discount toTuesday's closing price. UKFI announced it was placing theshares after markets closed on Tuesday.
Britain began to offload its 39 percent shareholding inLloyds last September, which was seen as a milestone in thecountry's recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, whentaxpayers pumped a combined 66 billion pounds into Lloyds andRBS. Bankers and analysts said UKFI could completely sell itsstake in Lloyds before a UK election due in 2015.
($1 = 0.6059 British Pounds) (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Huw Jones)
Lloyds (LLOY)
