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* Caixabank to buy Barclays retail, corporate bank in Spain
* Pays 800 mln euros in cash for the assets
* Deal draws bank consolidation in Spain to close for now
* Caixabank, Barclays shares unchanged (Recasts to focus on Spanish banking consolidation, addsanalyst quotes, shares)
By Sarah White and Jesus Aguado
MADRID, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Barclays' sale of itsSpanish banking business to Caixabank looks set tomark the end of a hectic first round of consolidation in thecountry's finance industry as it emerges from the financialcrisis.
Barcelona-based Caixabank - Spain's third-biggestlender by market value and owner of the largest bank branchnetwork - has agreed to buy Barclays' wealth management andretail and corporate banking business in thecountry.
But after this 800 million euro deal, there are feweropportunities for potential bidders for Spanish banking assetsat attractive prices.
"Most of the obvious transactions that were going to be donehave been done," Nomura analyst Daragh Quinn said.
Dozens of Spanish savings banks have been merged into largerpeers in the wake of a property crash which left many short ofcapital and some in need of a 41.3-billion-euro (54 billion USdollar) European rescue in 2012.
BBVA in July beat Caixabank to buy Catalunya Banc,a bailed-out lender auctioned off by the state, while BancoPopular in June bought Citi's retail and credit cardbusiness in Spain.
A shake-up of the broader banking landscape following ahealth check on the industry by the European Central Bank -which is taking over as the supervisor of euro zone entities inNovember - could ultimately spur more deals, if weak banks arepushed to find partners.
Spanish banks are also coming under pressure to open up tooutside investors, helping to improve transparency in anindustry once heavily populated by unlisted savings banks.
Cooperative banking group Cajamar is seeking new capital, including from foreign private equity firms, while Banco MareNostrum (BMN), majority-owned by the government, is planning tofloat on the stock market next year as a condition of itsrescue.
The Spanish state will also be looking to sell more sharesin government-controlled Bankia, though it is holdingoff until at least the results of the European stress tests inOctober.
FUNDS ALSO CIRCLING
Caixabank, already one of the most acquisitive banks duringthe crisis alongside Sabadell, has already flaggedthere could be deals again in a more distant future, when bankshave digested the past four years of mergers.
Caixabank Chief Executive Gonzalo Gortazar told analysts ona conference call on Monday that, within a three-year view, heexpected "some additional transactions" in the sector.
International investment funds have also been interested inpicking up cheap banking assets in Spain after the crisis, asthe economy returns to growth following a six year downturn.
Apollo Global Management last year bought a smallbanking network, Evo Banco, off nationalised NCG Banco.
Barclays' operations in Spain had drawn initial interestfrom private equity firms and funds, two people person familiarwith the transaction said. Barclays declined to comment.
Caixabank is paying around 800 million euros in cash for theBarclays assets, valuing them at 0.47 times book value - belowwhat some analysts had expected, given their 1.7-billion-eurobook value.
"While we are slightly disappointed by the sale price, theimprovement in core tier 1 and leverage ratio as well asacceleration of the disposal of non-core should be taken well,"Espirito Santo analyst Shailesh Raikundlia said.
Barclays shares were down 0.3 percent by 1130 GMT, versus a0.7 percent decline in the European banking index.
Barclays made losses in Spain in 2013 but turned a profitagain in the first half of this year. For the UK bank, the saleentails a 500-million-pound loss after tax, it said.
Caixabank is looking to achieve around 150 million euros ingross cost synergies by 2016 from the Barclays deal, which willalso involve around 300 million euros in restructuring costs,net of tax. The integrated assets would contribute about 80million euros to its net profit in 2016, Caixabank said.
(1 US dollar = 0.7609 euro) (Reporting by Sarah White and Jesus Aguado. Additionalreporting by Matthew Scuffham in London. Editing by JaneMerriman)
