In a move that’s expected to increase competition on the UK retail market, Lloyds Banking Group plans to sell 125 million shares of its TSB unit later this month. Prices are expected to range between 220 pence to 290 pence per share, Lloyds announced. The final IPO pricing is set to be announced around June 24, with conditional dealings starting the same day. The floatation could net GBP 1.28bn. TBS, the seventh largest retail bank in the UK, won’t likely pay dividends until 2017. However, investors are being offered one free share for every 20 they buy, which they must hold onto for at least a year.
The UK government has a 24.9-percent stake in the bank which was ordered to by the EU to sell more than 600 of its branches in 2009 following a government bailout. Lloyds relaunched its TSB unit in September. The unit has 600 branches and 4.5 million retail customers.
