Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The Brazilian unit of Banco Santander SA, Spain’s largest bank, plans to sell as much as $200 million of stock in an initial public offering.

The lender plans to use the proceeds of the share offering to finance the expansion of its infrastructure and boost its capital base, Banco Santander (Brasil) SA said in a regulatory filing today. The offering includes American depositary shares and stock in Brazil, the filing said.

Santander on July 31 filed to sell units representing both ordinary and preferred shares. Chief Executive Officer Alfredo Saenz said in July that Santander would offer new shares equivalent to a 15 percent stake in the Brazilian unit.

Santander Investment and Credit Suisse Group AG were hired to manage the share sale, according to today’s filing.

Santander, which paid 11 billion euros ($15.7 billion) in 2007 to buy ABN Amro Holding NV’s Banco Real unit in Brazil, is the third-biggest non-state lender in the country and said last year it was targeting two-thirds growth in profit from the country by 2010.

In Brazil, share sales are rebounding as the country’s stock market rallies. The benchmark Bovespa index has gained 48 percent in 2009 after plunging a record 41 percent last year.

Cetip SA - Balcao Organizado de Ativos & Derivativos, Brazil’s biggest clearing house, yesterday became the 10th company since July 31 to announce plans for a share sale in the Sao Paulo market. Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, Rossi Residencial SA and PDG Realty Empreendimentos e Participacoes SA also plan to offer stock.

Cia. Brasileira de Meios de Pagamento, the processor of payments for Visa Inc. known as VisaNet, has had Sao Paulo’s only IPO so far this year. The company’s shareholders raised 8.4 billion reais ($4.5 billion) in the sale, a Brazil record.

To contact the reporters for this story: Fabio Alves in New York at falves3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 3, 2009 16:31 EDT