BARCLAYS has sold a 7,4 percent stake in former African unit Absa Group, cutting its holding by half.

The firm priced an accelerated placing of 63 million shares at R164 each ($10,88), according to a statement Thursday. That was a 7,3 percent discount to the Johannesburg-listed stock’s Wednesday close. Barclays gathered enough investor orders to cover the sale within minutes of opening the book, terms seen by Bloomberg showed.

Barclays had a 15 percent holding in the African lender before the sale. The British bank, which has had a presence in Africa for more than 100 years, has been reducing its stake in Johannesburg-based Absa in recent years. It sold off much of its controlling stake in the group — then-Barclays Africa Group — in 2017. – Bloomberg