Barclays, HSBC said among banks on 7b-euro Santander sale

[LONDON] Banco Santander SA is lining up a raft of banks, including Credit Suisse Group AG and Deutsche Bank AG, to underwrite its planned 7 billion euro ($7.8 billion) capital increase, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Spain's largest lender has also picked Barclays Plc, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, HSBC Holdings Plc and CaixaBank SA, to participate, the people said, asking not to be named as the details aren't public. While no final decisions have been made, the bank plans to tap shareholders by July, they said.

Santander is expected to name even more banks on its sale, the people said. European banks have announced about US$37 billion in additional stock sales this year and sellers are careful to include all their lending banks as well as those who may give them business in the roster of advisers. The large sales this year have typically included a dozen banks or more, and Deutsche Bank had 32 advisers on its 8 billion euro sale, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Banks on Santander's stock sale could be paid up to 1.5 per cent of what they underwrite in deal fees, with global coordinators also getting a structuring fee, the people said.

Santander is raising funds to shore up Banco Popular Espanol SA's balance sheet after acquiring the bank for 1 euro in a deal brokered by European regulators following a run on deposits. Citigroup Inc and UBS Group AG are global coordinators on the stock sale.

Representatives from Santander and the banks declined to comment.

This will be the second time chairman Ana Botin taps shareholders for new funds since she took over as Santander's No 1 executive in September 2014 following her father's death. In January 2015, the lender announced a 7.5 billion euro share sale to strengthen the bank's capital. Goldman Sachs Group Inc and UBS ran that capital increase.

BLOOMBERG