Santander Argentina to Issue Shares

Shareholders of Santander Rio have approved of the issuance of 145m new shares, the Argentine unit of the Spanish bank says. It does not give details about the nature of the transaction, though the market has been expecting the bank to hold a public follow-on to increase its free float. The bank says it would price the class B shares in the range of ARP10 to ARP26, indicating an ARP1.45bn-ARP3.77bn ($359m-$934m) total size. The shares closed at ARP14.00 Thursday, which would indicate an ARP2.00bn deal. The bank does not give an indication of the timing of the transaction.