Barclays close to deal for UPP stake: report
LONDON |
LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays Capital (BARC.L) is close to selling its majority stake in Britain's University Partnerships Program (UPP), in a deal that could be worth close to 1 billion pounds, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
The newspaper cited people close to the situation as saying PGGM, the Dutch pension fund, has entered exclusive negotiations with the UPP and is likely to sign a deal early next month to buy the bulk of the 80 percent stake controlled by Barclays.
The management of the student housing group would maintain their minority shareholdings in the business.
PGGM is prepared to provide future equity to fund UPP's series of new projects, anticipated to be worth about 200 million pound over the next two years, according to sources cited in the article.
The move to enter negotiations caps a protracted strategic review of funding options by UPP, which included the rejection of bids from Macquarie (MQG.AX) and GI Partners.
If it goes ahead, the deal would be one of the largest corporate transactions in the property sector this year.
(Reporting by Stephen Mangan; Editing by Gary Hill)
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