In a statement, SMBC said that it has sold 84,459,459 shares in a secondary offering to institutional investors in international market mainly in Europe, including qualified buyers in the US.
Following transaction, the Japanese financial organization will hold half of its stake in the UK-based lender, and there will be no change in the current business relation between the two companies.
The decision to sell the stake comes at a time when SMBC, which has no plans to sell the remaining stake, is in a phased implementation of Basel III.
In 2008, Barclays sold 169 million shares to SMBC at a purchase price of 296 pence per share in a bid to help the bank to thwart the state bailout subsequently nationalization.
With nearly 140,000 employs, Barclays offers personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management services in more than 50 countries in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.
