The British Government on Tuesday sold a six per cent stake in Lloyds bank for 3.2 billion pounds ($5 billion), after announcing that it was to begin the bank’s re-privatisation.
The Government had owned a 39 per cent stake after it bailed the bank out for 20.3 billion pounds in 2008, at the height of the financial crisis.
Its stake has now been reduced to around 33 per cent after it sold 4.28 billion shares for 75 pence per share, according to UK Financial Investments, which manages the stake for the Government.
That means the Government has made a profit of 61 million pounds after it paid 73.6 pence per share in 2008.
“Profit for taxpayer & important step in plan to get their money back and repair economy,” tweeted Chancellor George Osborne. He said the money would go towards paying off the national debt.
Speculation that the Government would begin selling its stake was fuelled when Lloyds returned profits of 2.1 billion pounds in the first half of 2013, compared with a loss of 456 million pounds in the same period of the previous year.