Shareholders of Webster Financial Corp. voted in favor of the $12 billion takeover bid from Banco Santander SA on Tuesday, removing one of the final obstacles to completing the transaction.
Webster confirmed the shareholder approval at an extraordinary meeting held on Tuesday and said it will publish the detailed voting results shortly. The company provided no additional new timing on the release beyond that statement.
Santander first announced its intention to buy Webster in February as part of Executive Chair Ana Botin's plan to grow the bank's footprint in the United States. According to the terms disclosed with the announcement, Santander is seeking to use Webster's deposit base as a source of funding while broadening its commercial and retail lending operations across the U.S.
The parties expect the deal to reach completion in the second half of the year, but that timeline is contingent on receiving the necessary regulatory approvals. No further milestones or regulatory timetables were provided in the confirmation of the shareholder vote.
Under the agreed terms, Santander will pay $48.75 in cash plus 2.0548 Santander shares, delivered as American Depositary Shares, for each Webster share. Using closing prices from the most recent Friday, that consideration values Webster at about $73.49 per share, equating to roughly $12 billion for the entire bank.
Context for markets and banking operators
The approved deal directly touches the banking and financial services sectors. For Santander, the transaction is presented as a strategic move to obtain a U.S. deposit base to support lending activities. For Webster, the arrangement represents a change of ownership at a set valuation tied to a combination of cash and ADS-based equity consideration.
Next steps
- Webster will publish the formal, detailed shareholder vote totals as indicated by the company.
- Both parties will proceed toward regulatory review, which must clear before the transaction can close in the second half of the year.