DEFA14A 1 w15422edefa14a.htm SOVEREIGN BANCORP, INC. defa14a
 

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
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SOVEREIGN BANCORP, INC.
 
(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
SOVEREIGN BANCORP, INC.
 
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than the Registrant)
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On December 21, 2005, Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. issued the following press release.
 
(SOVEREIGN BANCORP LETTERHEAD)
         
FINANCIAL CONTACTS:
        
Mark McCollom
  610-208-6426   mmccollo@sovereignbank.com
Stacey Weikel
  610-208-6112   sweikel@sovereignbank.com
 
        
MEDIA CONTACTS
        
Ed Shultz
  610-207-8753   eshultz1@sovereignbank.com
 
        
The Abernathy MacGregor Group    212-371-5999
Mike Pascale
        
Tom Johnson
        
Sovereign Responds to Relational Press Release
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 21 — Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: SOV) today released the following statement in response to a press release by Relational Investors LLC:
It is unfortunate that hedge fund managers Batchelder and Whitworth persist with their desperate and malicious attacks on Sovereign’s directors. Their motives are very disruptive and self-serving. We will continue to protect the interests of all Sovereign shareholders. Sovereign’s board and management team have produced superior returns for shareholders over the past three, five and ten years. We are focused on completing our transactions with Independence and Santander and on continuing our superior record of creating value for our shareholders.
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., (“Sovereign”) (NYSE: SOV), is the parent company of Sovereign Bank, a $63 billion financial institution with more than 650 community banking offices, over 1,000 ATMs and approximately 10,000 team members with principal markets in the Northeast United States. Sovereign offers a broad array of financial services and products including retail banking, business and corporate banking, cash management, capital markets, trust and 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.

 

 

Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. and its directors and officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from shareholders of Sovereign in connection with the election of directors at the 2006 annual meeting of shareholders. Information regarding the names of Sovereign’s directors and executive officers and their respective interests in Sovereign by security holdings or otherwise is set forth in Sovereign’s proxy statement relating to the 2005 annual meeting of shareholders, which may be obtained free of charge at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov and Sovereign’s website at http://www.sovereignbank.com. Additional information regarding the interests of such potential participants will be included in the Proxy Statement and other relevant documents to be filed with the SEC in connection with Sovereign’s 2006 annual meeting of shareholders.
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. will file a Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A with the SEC in connection with its 2006 annual meeting of shareholders, which, when filed, will be available free of charge at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Investors and security holders are advised to read Sovereign’s Proxy Statement, when available, and the other materials to be filed by Sovereign related to the proxy solicitation, when available, because they will contain important information. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of the Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A and all other related material to be filed by Sovereign with the SEC (when they are filed and become available) free of charge at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov or by contacting Sovereign’s proxy solicitors, Innisfree M&A Incorporated at 1-888-750-5834 or Mackenzie Partners, Inc. at 1-800-322-2885. Sovereign also will provide a copy of these materials without charge at the Investor Relations section of its website at http://www.sovereignbank.com.