Santander Pays $163 Million to End Elliott-Led Buyout Challenge

Banco Santander SA plans to pay $162.5 million to settle a court challenge led by Elliott Investment Management LP to the Spanish bank’s $12.7 billion buyout of its US auto loan division.

The agreement entered Tuesday would resolve claims that Santander affiliates and board members of the loan unit manipulated the take-private transaction, known as a “squeeze-out,” to keep billions in pandemic-related profits away from public investors. The detente also cuts short a bruising public battle over Santander’s use of a self-deleting messaging app, Signal, that has been in the crosshairs of banking industry regulators worldwide.

The court filing includes ...