Banco Santander is expected to close the acquisition of Webster Financial in the United States in the coming days, just over six months after announcing the operation, once all necessary authorizations have been obtained from both the supervisors and the shareholders of the North American company.
According to the roadmap presented at the beginning of the month by the entity chaired by Ana Botín, the legal merger is scheduled for this Thursday, August 20, a date on which it already had the approval of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Before the stock market opens that same day, S&P Dow Jones will remove Webster from the S&P MidCap 400 index, where it will be replaced by Sun Communities.
The Webster shareholders' meeting approved the transaction at the end of May, and subsequently, the operation received the green light from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on June 12 and from the European Central Bank on July 21.
The consummation of this purchase comes just a few weeks after Santander completed the acquisition of TSB, the other major transaction announced by the group for this fiscal year with the aim of strengthening its presence in the British market.
The agreement moves forward despite the maneuvers of U.S. senators Bernie Moreno and Tim Sheehy, who attempted to block the operation by claiming that Spain has not always been a "reliable ally" of the United States.
With this integration, Santander expects to bolster its business in the U.S. market and accelerate the achievement of its financial goals. Once the integration is completed, the bank estimates that this franchise will achieve a return on tangible equity (ROTE) close to 18% by 2028.
In addition, the entity's forecasts indicate that the purchase will contribute to an increase in earnings per share of around 7% to 8%, along with a return on invested capital close to 15% in that same time frame of 2028.
When the operation is deemed complete, most of Webster's activities will be incorporated into Santander Bank, the group's banking subsidiary in the United States. Until the final closure occurs, both entities will continue to operate separately.
Since May, the integration teams of Santander and Webster have been working together to prepare for the moment of the legal acquisition, for which they have defined a list of 225 milestones considered critical in the process.