Barclays in talks with Brookfield about sale of UK payments arm - report

(Sharecast News) - Barclays has reportedly re-entered talks about a heavily structured deal to offload a stake in a major division of its British operations to asset management firm Brookfield. According to Sky News, the bank is in detailed discussions with Brookfield about it becoming a shareholder in its UK merchant acquiring arm.

The talks with Brookfield and other suitors have stalled several times since Barclays confirmed in February that it was exploring a sale or partnership of the division. However, they are now said to be back on, with the Canadian asset manager plotting the acquisition of a majority stake in it.

One source close to Barclays told Sky the deal under discussion would involve Brookfield to bear the costs associated with growing the business, rather than paying a significant up-front sum for the stake.

Estimates of the value of Barclays' merchant acquiring arm have varied wildly, ranging from less than $1bn to $2.5bn.

The valuation attributed to it in the current discussions was unclear on Tuesday.

The talks come with Barclays in a position of comparative strength under its chief executive, CS Venkatakrishnan.

Its shares have soared by 65% over the last year as investors have digested progress in the performance of its investment banking arm.

A Barclays spokesperson told Sky: "As we confirmed at our February investor update, we are exploring a number of options for investment in our market-leading merchant acquiring business, including strategic partnerships.

"We will provide any further updates in due course."