Santander’s Webster Deal Caps Ana Botin’s Dealmaking Blitz (1)

Ana Botin has never hidden her ambition to build Banco Santander SA into a leading US bank. On Tuesday, she said she’ll spend $12 billion to get there.

The proposed purchase of Webster Financial Corp. would represent the largest-ever takeover of a US lender by a continental European bank, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and cap a dealmaking blitz by Botin. Since last spring, the executive chair has been using a higher share price and proceeds from the sale of a Polish bank stake to scale up in the UK and now the US.

“This is a strategically important ...