Santander US consumer finance unit to raise up to $1.8 billion in public offer

Banco Santander’s US consumer finance unit plans to raise up to 1.8 billion dollars (1.3 billion euros) in an initial public share offer, according to details of the IPO filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Santander Consumer USA Holdings plans to offer 65.2 million shares to the public priced within an indicative range of 22-24 dollars. At the maximum price, this would raise 1.565 billion dollars (1.150 billion euros).

The IPO also includes an option to issue a further 75 million shares, which would bring proceeds from the IPO to up to 1.8 billion dollars (1.3 billion euros) from the sale of a 21.5-percent stake. The maximum price for the IPO values Santander Consumer USA at 8.336 billion dollars (6.1 billion euros).

The shares issued in the IPO will trade on the US Stock Exchange under the symbol SC. The global coordinators for the IPO include Santander itself, Deutsche Bank, BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and RBC Capital Markets.

Santander Consumer USA specializes in providing funding for the purchase and leasing of motor vehicles. It has agreements with Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Fiat.

Santander’s US retail banking unit Sovereign was rebranded under the Santander name in October of last year.