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London - The British government is set to own more than 40% of the new "superbank" resulting from the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS after a disappointing shareholders' response to a recapitalisation scheme.
The two banks confirmed on Monday that only a small percentage of new shares under the offer totalling £13bn were bought by shareholders at preferential prices under the scheme launched at the height of the banking crisis.
This means that the government will ultimately own 43.4% of the new Lloyds Banking Group, which is due to begin trading next week.
HBOS, or Halifax Bank of Scotland, said just 0.24% of the 7.5 billion shares it offered to raise £8.5bn were taken up.
Lloyds TSB saw just 0.5% of its 2.6 billion new shares to raise £4.5bn bought by existing investors.
Alongside its stake in Lloyds-HBOS, the government is also a majority shareholder in stricken Royal Bank of Scotland - owning almost 60% of the bank.
- Sapa