Santander cierra esta semana la compra de Webster

Spanish bank Santander plans to complete the acquisition of U.S. financial company Webster Financial later this week, it announced at the start of the month after receiving all necessary regulatory and shareholder approvals. The legal merger is expected to take place on Thursday, August 20, following approval from the U.S. Federal Reserve at the beginning of the week.

Prior to the market opening on August 20, S&P Dow Jones plans to exclude Webster from the S&P MidCap 400 index, which will be replaced by Sun Communities. The deal was approved by Webster shareholders at the end of May and also received the green light from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on June 12 and the European Central Bank on July 21.

This acquisition comes shortly after Santander closed its purchase of TSB, another major deal announced for this year, as the Spanish bank aims to expand its presence in the United Kingdom. Despite efforts by U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Tim Sheehy to block the acquisition, citing concerns about Spain's reliability as an ally, the transaction is set to strengthen Santander's U.S. business and accelerate the achievement of its financial targets.

Once the integration is complete, Santander predicts a return on tangible capital (ROE) of around 18% in 2028, along with a 7% to 8% increase in earnings per share and a return on invested capital close to 15% by the same year. Following the completion of the deal, most of Webster's businesses will integrate into Santander Bank, the U.S. banking subsidiary of Santander.

Until the closing date, both Santander and Webster will continue to operate independently, as reported by Europa Press. Since May, Santander and Webster's integration teams have been working together to prepare for the legal acquisition, identifying 225 critical points that will be key to the process.