Morgan Stanley and BBVA Bolsa, the Spanish broker, have raised €506m ($540m) from selling shares in Repsol, the Spanish oil and gas company, in the largest European equity deal of the year so far.

The 36.8 million shares were placed at €13.75, a 3.2% discount to Wednesday's closing price. Shares were trading down 6% at €13.35, but had recovered some ground by Thursday afternoon, trading at €13.6. The poor post-deal performance fuelled speculation that the banks had made a loss on the deal.