Sovereign may sell itself to Banco Santander for $2.53 bln - MarketWatch

Sovereign may sell itself to Banco Santander for $2.53 bln - MarketWatch: "SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Spain's Banco Santander SA was in late-stage talks Sunday to acquire Sovereign Bancorp Inc. in a deal that could be worth as much as $2.53 billion, according to a published report.
A story in the online edition of the Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter reported that a deal could be completed by Monday and that while the details of the transaction weren't clear, Banco Santander could be expected to pay Sovereign's Friday closing price of $3.81 a share."