Spain's Criteria to up stake in Austria's Erste

MADRID, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Criteria Corp (CRIT.MC), the industrial holding company of Spain's largest savings bank, La Caixa, said on Friday it would increase its stake in Austria's Erste bank (ERST.VI) to 9.9 percent from 5.1 percent.

Criteria will raise its stake by buying additional rights to the shares to be issued from Erste's planned 1.65 billion euro ($2.43 billion) rights issue, which was announced on Thursday.

The Spanish holding company will buy the extra, no-discount rights from Die Erste Foundation, Erste's core shareholders who currently hold about 31 percent of the bank. ($1=.6785 Euro) (Reporting by Jonathan Gleave; editing by Simon Jessop)