Shares of BT Investment Management Ltd (ASX: BTT) (BTIM) were today placed in a trading halt on the back of a decision by its major shareholder, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), to divest a substantial portion of its ownership.
In an announcement to the ASX, BTIM said Westpac is seeking to sell down 55 million shares to institutional investors and up to 27 million shares to retail investors. Westpac currently holds around 59% of all BTIM shares.
Following the sell down, its holding will reduce to between 31% and 40%. Westpac's sell down will increase liquidity for BTIM shares whilst also raising between $600 million and $700 million for Westpac, which is scrambling to raise capital in the face of increasing regulatory oversight by Australia's banking authority, APRA.
Westpac recently raised $2 billion through a partially underwritten dividend reinvestment plan. The institutional component of the sell down is expected to take place over the next two days, over which time BTIM shares will remain in a trading halt. So far in 2015 BTIM shares have climbed 30%.
