Awwal 01, 1432, Feb 04, 2011, SPA -- The Swedish government Friday announced it had sold about a third of its stake in Nordic banking group Nordea, but remained the group's second largest owner, according to dpa. The income of 19 billion kronor (2.9 billion dollars) would be used to pay off some of the public debt, Peter Norman, financial markets minister, said. Following Friday's deal, the Swedish government has 13.5 per cent of the bank. The largest owner is Finnish-based insurer group Sampos which at the end of December had some 21 per cent of Nordea's shares and voting rights but is believed to have increased its stake. Financial affairs spokesman Thomas Ostros of the opposition Social Democrats was critical of the government's move. Nordea was formed in 2000 when Merita Bank of Finland and Nordbanken of Sweden merged. The centre-right government has earlier said it planned to reduce its holdings in several companies including Nordea and telecommunications group Telia Sonera.
