On Monday, Santander, a Spanish bank, said that the company had agreed to acquire a 51% stake in El Corte Ingles' consumer finance business. The deal was priced EUR140 million for the stake in the largest finance unit in the country, said a Reuters report.

According to sources that were familiar with the matter, El Corte Ingles' finance unit could be considered as one of the company's most lucrative assets. This was because it holds more than 10.5 million store card customers and is the biggest consumer finance arm in the country.

Last year, the finance arm of El Corte Ingle had lent EUR6.6 billion. This was 10% less than the 2011 portfolio, according to a report from Reuters. Meanwhile, the company generated EUR168.4 million of revenue last 2012, which was 9% up from 2011.

The transaction between Santander and El Corte Ingles would allow the bank to access the huge database of the company's customers. The clients would then be targeted with products from its own consumer finance business, reported Reuters.