PHILADELPHIA, April 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sovereign Bancorp,
Inc. ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), parent company of Sovereign Bank, announced
today that it will issue and sell 8,000 shares of Series C Non-Cumulative
Perpetual Preferred Stock ("Series C Preferred Stock") on or about May 1,
2006. The shares of the Series C Preferred Stock will be represented by
8,000,000 depositary shares. Each depositary share will represent a
1/1,000th ownership interest in a share of Series C Preferred Stock.
Sovereign filed an application with the New York Stock Exchange to list the
depositary shares under the symbol "SOVPrC." Dividends on the Series C
Preferred Stock will accrue from the original issue date and will be
payable, when, as and if declared by Sovereign's board of directors or a
duly authorized committee of the board, on a non-cumulative basis,
quarterly in arrears on the 15th day of February, May, August and November
of each year, beginning on August 15, 2006 at an annual rate of 7.30%. The
Series C Preferred Stock is not redeemable by Sovereign prior to May 15,
2011.
The proceeds from the offering, approximately $200 million, will be
used to finance a portion of the purchase price for Sovereign's pending
acquisition of Independence Community Bank Corp., which is expected to
close on or before June 1, 2006.
Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. and J.P.
Morgan Securities Inc. are acting as joint book-running managers of the
offering. Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and Santander Investment
Securities, Inc. are co-managers.
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), is the parent
company of Sovereign Bank, a pro forma $83 billion financial institution
with nearly 800 community banking offices, over 2,000 ATMs and
approximately 12,000 team members with principal markets in the Northeast
United States after giving effect to the Independence acquisition and
recently announced branding agreement in which Sovereign ATMs will be
placed in CVS/pharmacy locations. 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. Sovereign is the 18th largest banking institution in the United
States. For more information on Sovereign Bank, visit
http://www.sovereignbank.com or call 1-877-SOV-BANK.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a
solicitation of an offer to buy the securities, nor shall there be any sale
of the securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer,
solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or
qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction. This
release is intended to be disclosure through methods reasonably designed to
provide broad, non- exclusionary distribution to the public in compliance
with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Fair Disclosure Regulation.
This release may contain forward-looking statements that are estimates
reflecting the best judgment of Sovereign based on currently available
information. Such forward-looking statements involve actual known and
unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors that could
cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from
those stated. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors,
many of which are beyond the control of Sovereign, include overall
economic, financial and business conditions; trends for the continued
growth of the businesses of Sovereign; the ability to implement
productivity and cost reduction efforts; the overall financial condition of
Sovereign's customers; the ability of vendors and business partners to
continue to provide products and services to Sovereign; the continued
successful integration of acquired companies, including Independence
Community Bank Corp., and the ability to realize anticipated revenues,
economies of scale, cost synergies and profitability; pricing and other
competitive factors in the industry; the ability to attract and retain
needed management; the impact of consolidation in the banking industry;
volatility in the market for Sovereign's stock and in the financial markets
generally; access to capital and financing; the demand for Sovereign's
products and services; variations in costs or expenses; changes in tax law
and regulation; changes in accounting rules and standards; and other risks
and uncertainties described in Sovereign's reports and filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.sovereignbank.com
CONTACT:
FINANCIAL CONTACTS: Mark McCollom,
+1-610-208-6426, mmccollo@sovereignbank.com, or Stacey Weikel,
+1-610-208-6112, sweikel@sovereignbank.com; or MEDIA CONTACT: Ed
Shultz, +1-610-378-6159, eshultz1@sovereignbank.com, all of
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
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