MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish bank Santander (>> Banco Santander, S.A.) said on Tuesday it had reached an agreement to acquire the Canadian business of auto-financing company Carfinco (>> Carfinco Financial Group Inc) for C$298 million (166.38 million pounds).

Santander will pay C$11.25 in cash per share for the business, a 32 percent premium to the volume-weighted average price over the last 90 trading days, the bank said in a statement to the Spanish market regulator.

Carfinco will pay a special dividend to shareholders at the close of the deal as part of the agreement, the bank said.

The sale remains subject to regulatory approval.

(Reporting by Paul Day; editing by Jason Neely)

Stocks treated in this article : Banco Santander, S.A., Carfinco Financial Group Inc