Britain sells remainder of Royal Mail stake for 591 million pounds

LONDON (Reuters) - The government has sold the remainder of its stake in Royal Mail, earning 591.1 million pounds from its 13 percent holding and opting to gift its remaining 1 percent stake to Royal Mail staff. The government said on Tuesday that it completed the disposal of a 13 percent stake through an accelerated book building process to institutional investors at a placing price of 455 pence. Royal Mail shares had closed at 472.2 pence on Monday, just before the government announced it planned to divest its final stake. The government said arrangements were underway to give the final 1 percent shareholding to Royal Mail's eligible UK staff. The disposal ends the government's involvement in the 500-year-old postal operator whose privatisation in 2013 attracted criticism from opposition politicians and trade unions who said the firm had been sold off too cheaply. (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton)