Santander launches Mexican unit share offer

Leading Spanish bank Santander on Tuesday launched a public offer of shares in its Mexican unit valuing it at up to 13.708 billion euros.

The valuation makes the operation the largest equity offering in Latin America this year and the biggest ever placement of shares in Mexico.

The offer of 24.9 percent of the Santander Mexico unit is priced at between 29.0 and 33.50 pesos per share for a total amount of between 2.957 and 3.413 billion euros. It consists of a tranche of 20 percent in Mexico, with the remaining 80 percent to be placed outside of Mexico, including in the United States where the American Depositary Receipts are priced at between $10.99 and $12.70 each, representing a total offer amount of between $3.714 billion and $4.291 billion.

“This transaction is another step in our strategy of having quoted subsidiaries. Our three largest subsidiaries in Latin America will be among the top 100 banks in the world by stock market value,” Santander Chairman Emilio Botín said.

The entire proceeds from the offer will be assigned to Santander’s reserves, with the Spanish bank retaining control of the unit. The offer will result in about a half of a percentage point increase in Santander’s core capital ratio, which under Basel II regulations stood at 10.1 percent at the end of June.