Barclays Private Equity unit sold to management

LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays Private Equity is being bought out by its own management team and will be relaunched as Equistone Partners Europe, the British bank said on Friday, adding that the value of the gross assets being sold off was expected to be around 45 million pounds ($71.5 million).

Barclays, which last month posted higher profits as gains in its retail banking and credit card business offset a slowdown at its investment banking arm, has sold off non-core assets over the course of the year to improve its overall returns.

Last month, it sold its Russian retail and commercial banking operations to local banker Igor Kim, while in June it sold a portfolio of funds worth $740 million to French insurer AXA .

Barclays said the Equistone business would continue to manage its existing three funds on behalf of its existing investors in the Barclays Private Equity funds. Barclays would remain an investor alongside those funds and the largest single investor in Equistone's investments to date.

The bank added that the sale of Barclays Private Equity was not expected to have a material impact on its earnings per share or capital ratios.

($1 = 0.630 British Pounds)