Banco Santander agreed to sell most of its Polish assets to Austria’s Erste Group Bank, continuing a wave of dealmaking among European lenders.

Erste Group Bank has bought a 49% stake in Santander's Polish bank for around 6.8 billion euros ($7.7 billion), turning Austria's largest lender into one of the most important banks in Poland and freeing up billions for Santander .

The deal includes 50% of its asset management business in Poland (TFI) that Santander Polska does not control for about 200 million euros. Banco Santander has agreed to sell approximately 49% of the capital of Santander Polska,