Santander sells 3.5% stake in Polish unit for $473m

Core Insights - Santander is planning to sell approximately a 3.5% stake in its Polish subsidiary, Santander Polska, valued at up to $473 million through an accelerated bookbuild process [1] - This follows a previous agreement to sell a 49% stake in Santander Polska to Erste Group Bank for up to €6.8 billion ($7.90 billion), leaving Santander with around 13% ownership post-transaction [1] - After the stake sale, Santander will retain about a 9.7% stake in Santander Polska and will continue its operations in Poland through Santander Consumer Bank [2] Stake Sale Details - The accelerated placement involves 3,576,626 ordinary shares priced at 482 zlotys ($132.33) per share [2] - The remaining shares will be subject to a 90-day post-closing lock-up period [2] - Citigroup Global Markets Europe and Goldman Sachs Bank Europe are acting as joint global coordinators and bookrunners for the transaction [2] Strategic Cooperation - Santander and Erste have announced a strategic cooperation to leverage each other's strengths in corporate and investment banking [3] - As part of this partnership, Erste will gain access to Santander's global payments platforms [3] Other Recent Developments - In June, Santander signed an agreement to divest seven branches in Pennsylvania, USA, to Community Financial System's subsidiary, Community Bank, as part of its transformation into a national, digital-first bank [4] - In October, Santander announced the merger of its Santander Consumer Finance with Openbank to create a single legal entity operating under the Openbank brand [4] - Openbank and Santander Consumer Finance are part of Santander's Digital Consumer Bank global business, aiming to streamline consumer finance operations in Europe [5]