June 25 (Bloomberg) -- Barclays Plc, Britain's fourth-biggest bank, plans to raise 4.5 billion pounds ($8.9 billion) to bolster depleted capital and increase consumer lending in Asia and investment banking in the U.S.
Barclays rose as much as 8.1 percent in London trading today, the biggest gain in five years. The company said in a statement it will sell as much as 1.58 billion shares to Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and sovereign wealth funds in Singapore, China and Qatar.
Chief Executive Officer John Varley told reporters he will use half the proceeds to lift the bank's so-called core Tier 1 capital ratio above its 5.25 percent target and the rest for ``business opportunities,'' including possible acquisitions. Barclays sought outside funds after its capital level fell below U.K. competitors led by Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.
``This is both a cushion against the market environment as well as a war chest,'' said Georg Grodski, head of credit research at London-based Legal & General Group Plc.
London-based Barclays rose as much as 25.25 pence and was 7.6 percent higher at 334.5 pence at 12:35 p.m., valuing the bank at 22 billion pounds. The shares were today's best performer in the eight-member FTSE All-Share Banks Index.
The cost of protecting European bank debt fell for the first time in a week after Barclays announced its capital plans. Credit- default swaps on Barclays fell 2 basis points to 100, Credit Suisse Group prices show.
`Positive for Credit Markets'
Barclays is selling shares to Challenger, a company set up to represent Qatar's royal family; Qatar Investment Authority; Temasek Holdings Pte and China Development Bank. Sumitomo in Tokyo will buy 500 million pounds of shares at 296 pence each.
Banks and securities firms have raised almost $305 billion in the past year after record writedowns and credit losses of almost $400 billion from the collapse of the subprime mortgage market. Singapore's Temasek also has invested in New York-based Merrill, the third-biggest U.S. securities firm by market value, and London-based Standard Chartered Plc, the U.K.'s third-biggest bank by market value.
Varley said Barclays will open 300 branches this year and expand trading in its emerging markets, commodities and foreign exchange units. The bank also seeks a bigger share of the U.K. mortgage market as rivals retrench.
``We expect the longer-term growth prospects of the company to be higher than its domestic U.K. peers,'' Merrill analyst John- Paul Crutchley wrote in a note to clients today. He has an ``underperform'' rating on the stock.
All Barclays investors will get the chance to buy shares at 282 pence a share, the company. The sovereign wealth funds and other unidentified investors will purchase whatever is left. China Development is entitled to 136 million pounds of new stock, while Challenger, Qatar Investment Authority and Temasek will be able to buy as much as 2.5 billion pounds of shares at 282 pence.
`Significant Cocktail'
``We have anchor investors of high quality,'' Varley said.
By finding investors to guarantee the share sale, Barclays isn't relying on investment banks to underwrite the offering. Credit Suisse Group and JPMorgan Cazenove are working with Barclays Capital as joint brokers on the sale.
Barclays's offer of 500 million pounds to Sumitomo was priced at a 4.7 percent discount to the bank's closing share price yesterday. The offering of 4 billion pounds was priced at a 9.25 percent discount to yesterday's close of 310.75 pence a share. All existing investors will be offered three new shares at 282 pence for every 14 they own.
U.K. Slowdown
British banks face slower growth amid higher funding costs and rising defaults as house prices fall at the fastest rate since the recession of the 1990s. The credit-market freeze has halted sales of mortgage-backed securities, which lenders including HBOS Plc and Bradford & Bingley Plc use to fund property loans.
Barclays will pay a dividend of 11.5 pence a share in cash for the first half, unchanged from last year, it said. RBS and HBOS plan to pay a first-half dividend in stock to save capital.
Barclays has written down 1.7 billion pounds on credit assets so far this year. That's less than RBS, the U.K.'s second-biggest bank, which wrote down 5.9 billion pounds this year, and less than HBOS, the U.K.'s biggest mortgage lender, which marked down 2.8 billion pounds.
The bank's brokers ``rigorously'' assessed Barclays's credit writedowns, Varley said. The new shares will start trading July 22 the bank said.
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