Sovereign Bancorp shareholders OK merger with Banco Santander; deal set to close Friday

By Angela McDaniels

Tacoma, Wash., Jan. 28 - Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. said its shareholders approved Banco Santander, SA's plan to acquire all of the outstanding Sovereign common stock it does not currently own.

Shareholders voted at a special meeting on Wednesday, and the acquisition is expected to close Friday.

IVS Associates has certified that 96% of Sovereign's shareholders who voted were in favor of the transaction, according to a Sovereign news release.

The Sovereign shareholder approval comes two days after Banco Santander shareholders approved a capital increase to finance the acquisition.

Sovereign shareholders will receive 0.3206 of a Banco Santander American Depositary Share or ordinary share, at their option, for every share of Sovereign common stock held.

On Oct. 13, Banco Santander, a Madrid-based bank, agreed to acquire Sovereign in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at $1.9 billion.

Sovereign is a Philadelphia-based bank holding company.

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