After all the talk and speculation, Barclays may not have to sell the iShares line of exchange traded funds (ETFs) after all.
Barclays, Britain’s third-largest bank, passed tests conducted by the United Kingdom’s financial regulator, reports Jon Menon for Bloomberg. The Financial Services Authority looked over Barclays’s loans and found that the bank will continue to meet capital requirements under a range of scenarios.
That doesn’t mean the iShares deal is off, though: the bank is still in talks to sell it, and may also exchange bonds to boost its capital. The bank had asked bidders to submit their offers by today.
According to people who are familiar, among the bidders are Colony Capital LLC and Bain Capital LLC, two U.S. private equity firms; Goldman Sachs (GS); and a group of leveraged buyout firms including Hellman & Friedman LLC and Apax Partners Worldwide LLP.
Barclays may announce an agreement by March 31.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.