First BanCorp, the bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico (“FirstBank”), announced the completion of its previously announced acquisition of Santander BanCorp (“Santander BanCorp”) and its wholly-owned subsidiary Banco Santander Puerto Rico (“Banco Santander”). In connection with the acquisition, Santander BanCorp and Banco Santander will be merged into FirstBank, with FirstBank being the surviving entity. As of July 31, 2020, Banco Santander had approximately $5.5 billion in assets, $2.7 billion in total loans and $4.2 billion in deposits. In consideration for the acquisition of Santander BanCorp and Banco Santander, the Corporation paid Seller cash in an amount of approximately (i) $394.8 million base purchase price for 117.5% of Banco Santander’s core tangible common equity, comprised of a $58.8 million premium on $336 million of core tangible common equity, plus (ii) $882.8 million for Santander’s BanCorp excess capital (paid at par), which represents the estimated closing payment pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement.
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Aurelio Alemán, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, commented: “Today we completed the acquisition of Banco Santander announced back in October 2019. The completion of this transaction marks a significant milestone in our journey. I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of both teams who have worked diligently on integration planning and execution throughout the operational disruption caused by the pandemic.
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We welcome the Banco Santander employees and customers and look forward to exceeding their expectations with an expanded branch network and service channels and enhanced technological offerings. This transaction significantly improves our scale, talent strength and competitiveness in retail, commercial and business banking. Our existing customers will also benefit from this expanded reach. Furthermore, we have and will continue to make considerable investments in technological innovations and talent development to enhance our portfolio of product offerings and ability to service our customers.
