Article: Report: Banco Santander in Sovereign Bancorp talks

Spanish bank Banco Santander SA is in "advanced talks" to acquire Philadelphia-based thrift Sovereign Bancorp Inc., The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Spokesmen at Sovereign and Santander declined comment on the report.

The Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said the two banks hope to have a deal in place by Monday, with Santander expected to pay roughly Sovereign's New York Stock Exchange closing stock price Friday of $3.81 a share. That would value Sovereign at about $2.53 billion, the Journal said.

Santander owns a 25 percent stake in Sovereign and speculation has mounted that the ...

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