By Razak Musah Baba

LONDON--The British government has reduced its stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LLOY.LN) by another percentage point to 10.97%, the latest in a series of small share sales in the bailed-out bank.

Lloyds said Friday that the government now owns 7.83 billion shares, or 10.97% of the bank's voting rights. It previously held 8.55 billion shares, or 11.89%.

The sale comes after the British government on Monday said it plans to sell at least 2 billion pounds ($3.04 billion) worth of shares in Lloyds to the public next spring as part of a broader move to dispose of its stake in the bailed-out lender.

The government, which said it intends to fully exit Lloyds position in coming months, said proceeds of the share sale to retail investors would be used to pay down national debt.

The Treasury said the public would be offered a discount of 5% of the market price when buying shares and that a bonus share would be awarded for every 10 shares for investors who hold the stock for more than a year.

Lloyds was bailed out by U.K. taxpayers during the financial crisis, with the government taking a 39% stake. The government started selling its shares in Lloyds in late 2013 and now holds a 11.98% stake.

(Ian Walker contributed to this article.)

-Write to Razak Musah Baba at razak.baba@wsj.com; Twitter: @Raztweet

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 09, 2015 02:44 ET (06:44 GMT)

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