PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE:SOV), today confirmed that it is engaged in advanced discussions with Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:STD) regarding a possible business combination involving the two companies.
It is not possible currently to know whether such conversations will lead to an agreement or not and there can be no assurances that an agreement will be reached or that a transaction will be consummated. Sovereign does not intend to comment further until an agreement is reached or discussions are terminated.
About Sovereign
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE:SOV), is the parent company of Sovereign Bank, a financial institution with principal markets in the Northeastern United States. Sovereign Bank has 750 community banking offices, over 2,300 ATMs and approximately 12,000 team members. Sovereign offers a broad array of financial services and products including retail banking, business and corporate banking, cash management, capital markets, wealth management and insurance. For more information on Sovereign Bank, call 1-877- SOV-BANK.
Forward-looking statements
Statements in this press release which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, including the results of proposed financing activities. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual future events to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Forward-Looking Statements" in Sovereign Bancorp Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.
DATASOURCE: Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
CONTACT: Financial, Kirk Walters, +1-617-346-7346,
, or Stacey Weikel, +1-610-320-8428,
, or Media, Andrew Gully, +1-617-757-5513,
, or Ellen Molle, +1-617-757-5573,
, both of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
Web site: http://www.sovereignbank.com/