Barclays’ sale of its investment arm to US asset manager BlackRock for $13.5 billion (£8.2 billion) marks the bank’s latest bid to shore up its finances without government help. The hotly-anticipated deal for Barclays Global Investors (BGI), reached late on Thursday, will hand Barclays 19.9 per cent of a new company to be called BlackRock Global Investors.

The bank said it would realise a net gain of about £5.3 billion to cement its balance sheet. Its share price dropped 3.20 per cent to 294.75 pence in early afternoon London trade as the deal had been widely expected.

Barclays had last year won a £7 billion capital injection that was largely backed by investors from Abu Dhabi and Qatar, as it sought to survive the credit crunch without government aid. However, Abu Dhabi recently sold most of its holding.

The BGI purchase, which has yet to be approved by shareholders, will double BlackRock’s size and create a firm managing assets worth some $2.7 trillion, employing more than 9,000 people in 24 countries, according to the New York-based investment group. “The mega-deal will create the world’s biggest asset manager and help BlackRock expand their global presence,” said an analyst.