Middle East Investor Sells Barclays Shares

LONDON -- A major Middle Eastern shareholder in Barclays(BCS Quote) bank said Tuesday that it intends to sell part of its stake, potentially taking a big profit on its seven-month investment.

Barclays turned to investors from Abu Dhabi and Qatar in November for an injection of up to 7.3 billion pounds ($12 billion) to shore up its balance sheet, rather than take on the British government as a major shareholder as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS Quote) and Lloyds Banking Group(LYG Quote) did.

International Petroleum Investment Co., controlled by the royal family of Abu Dhabi, said it planned to sell 1.3 billion shares in Barclays held by its subsidiary, PCP Gulf Invest 1 Ltd. ...