Bankinter Sells $1.18B Stake

Credit Agricole SA bought 4.5 percent of the commercial bank on the open market, and reached an agreement to buy another 15 percent stake from a group of investors led by Indian financier Ramchand Bhavnani for 13.6 euros ($19.93) per share.

The 809 million-euro acquisition values Bankinter SA, Spain's sixth largest bank by market value, at 5.4 billion euros ($7.91 billion).

Paris-based Credit Agricole, active in Spain since 1875, has corporate and investment banking, private banking and asset management operations in the Iberian nation.

"The move underlines our interest in the Spanish retail market," Credit Agricole spokesman Alain Berry said.

Still, the French bank is ruling out further share purchases in the short term, a spokesman for Credit Agricole in Madrid said.

Faced with slow growth at home, Credit Agricole has expanded aggressively across borders in recent years, with large acquisitions in Italy and Spain.

Bankinter's shares rose more than 20 percent last week on the Spanish market, amid speculation of a takeover. Shares gained less than a percent to close at 11.62 euros ($17.04) on Monday.

Credit Agricole said it expects to close the purchase, subject to the approval by Spain's central bank, in the first quarter of 2008.

The purchase would make Credit Agricole the largest shareholder of Bankinter's, according to stock market records.

In a separate regulatory filing, Bankinter said Bhavnani had informed it he was selling all of his shares in the bank and resigning his seat on its board.