Barclays is set to complete a deal to shed its UK merchant acquiring arm, allowing it to remain an investor in the business.
Sky News has learned that Barclays and Brookfield, the Canadian asset management giant, are in detailed talks over a deal which would see the British lender retain a 20% stake in the division.
Discussions are ongoing and a final agreement does not appear imminent.
Last month, Sky News revealed that Barclays had resumed negotiations on a highly structured deal with Brookfield after months of on-and-off negotiations.
Barclays said in February it was exploring a sale or partnership for the merchant acquiring division.
Unusually for such a large corporate transaction, Brookfield is not expected to pay consideration for a majority stake in the unit, but rather have it bear the costs associated with growing the business.
Estimates of the value of Barclays’ merchant acquiring arm vary wildly, from less than $1 billion to as much as $2.5 billion.
The talks come as Barclays finds itself in a position of relative strength under its chief executive, CS Venkatakrishnan.
Its shares have soared nearly 90% over the past year as investors digested progress in the performance of its investment banking arm.
A Barclays spokesperson said: “As we confirmed in our February investor update, we are exploring a number of investment options across our market-leading merchant acquiring business. the market, including strategic partnerships.
“We will provide further updates in due course.”
Brookfield declined to comment.