Fifth Third in Cincinnati is selling $85 million worth of shares of the processor Vantiv, its former subsidiary.
The sale would reduce the $119 billion-asset companys ownership stake in Vantiv by 9%, to roughly 25%, it announced Aug. 2. Fifth Third expects to record an after-tax profit of approximately $55 million from the sale in the third quarter, it said.
Fifth Third has been gradually selling its stake in the payments processor, formerly Fifth Third Processing. It sold approximately $225 million worth of shares in May and $140 million in December. It earned about $71 million from Vantivs initial public offering in March 2012.
As of June 30, Fifth Thirds stake in Vantiv was worth approximately $448 million, it said. Fifth Thirds sale of approximately 5 million shares is part of a secondary offering of 20 million shares.
