(Bloomberg) -- Tiger Global Management LLC has exited its stake in Barclays Plc after having been one of the bank's largest shareholders, a person familiar with the U.S. hedge fund's investment said.
The New York-based firm had owned about 2.5 percent of the London-based bank but allowed its position, mostly held in the form of derivatives, to expire, the person said. The use of swaps meant the investment and the subsequent exit never appeared in public filings, according to the person, who asked not to be identified.
Tiger began amassing its Barclays investment in late 2017, Bloomberg News has previously reported. Barclays was trading near a 52-week low at the time, but the bank's stock has drifted even lower since then, losing 21 percent over the past 12 months. That's increased pressure on Barclays Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley, whose strategy focuses on building up the lender's investment-banking operations.
The exit of the stake began last year, according to unidentified people cited by the Financial Times, which earlier reported Tiger's decision. Barclays and Tiger declined to comment.
Barclays will report its full-year earnings Thursday in what will be an important moment for Staley's battle against activist investor Edward Bramson. Bramson has built up a stake of more than 5 percent as he campaigns for the lender to cull parts of its investment bank.
Bramson is pushing for a seat on the board, a move that the bank has resisted. The activist has submitted a resolution to ask shareholders at the May annual general meeting to appoint him as a director.
--With assistance from Alfred Liu.
To contact the reporter on this story: Harry Wilson in London at hwilson57@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Keith Campbell, Ross Larsen
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