A man passes the windows of the Canary Wharf offices of JP Morgan in London September 19, 2013. Picture: REUTERS
A man passes the windows of the Canary Wharf offices of JP Morgan in London September 19, 2013. Picture: REUTERS
Photograph by: Neil Hall  REUTERS

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LONDON — JPMorgan Chase will work with Barclays on the sale of the UK lender’s African unit stake and its Egyptian business, according to people familiar with the matter.

The New York-based firm was assisting Barclays’s own bankers, who are leading the deal, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process was private. Formal bidding has not started, they said.

Officials at JPMorgan and Barclays declined to comment.

Barclays has sold assets, slashed about 6,000 jobs in the last four months, and cut dividends, after fourth-quarter profit fell and the London-based lender was hit with misconduct charges. The firm said it planned to sell down its 62% interest in Barclays Africa Group to boost capital, and focus on the UK and US markets.

Barclays had already received "a lot of interest" in the business since announcing the plan on March 1, CEO Jes Staley said last week. The Egyptian business, which dates back to 1864 and is focused on retail banking, could be worth more than $500m, a person familiar with the plan said last month. The business employs about 1,500 people and has 56 branches in Egyptian cities including Cairo, Giza and Alexandria, according to its website.

Barclays bought Absa Bank in 2005 and three years ago the Johannesburg-based unit acquired its parent’s operations in eight African countries, giving Barclays a presence in 12 countries on the continent, with 12-million customers.

Mr Staley said while he would like to maintain a stake in the African business, he would consider an offer for the bank’s entire holding.

JPMorgan is one of Barclays’s corporate brokers. The bank will serve the role of sponsor as laid out by UK regulators, according to one of the people.

Bloomberg