Qatar is selling 379.2 million shares in British bank Barclays, worth over 1.3 billion pounds ($2.1 billion), the second major Middle East investor set to make a big profit by selling down its stake this year.

Qatar Holding, which will remain Barclays' biggest shareholder, will exercise warrants for the same amount of shares. Barclays will receive 750 million pounds from the warrants, which have an exercise price of 197.775 pence.

They were part of a controversial 5.8 billion pound fundraising by the bank last November.

The shares are being sold by Credit Suisse via an accelerated bookbuild. -Reuters