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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) May 31, 1996
SOVEREIGN BANCORP, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Pennsylvania 0-16533 23-2453088
(State or other jurisdiction (Commission (IRS Employer
of incorporation) File Number) Ident. No.)
1130 Berkshire Boulevard, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania 19610
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code (610) 320-8400
N/A
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)
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Item 5. Other Events.
The press release of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. dated May 31,
1996 is attached as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and is incorporated
herein by reference.
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(a) Exhibits.
The following exhibits are filed herewith:
99.1 Press Release, dated May 31, 1996, of Sovereign
Bancorp, Inc.
<PAGE>
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed
on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
SOVEREIGN BANCORP, INC.
Dated: May 31, 1996
By/s/ Lawrence M. Thompson, Jr.
Lawrence M. Thompson, Jr.
Chief Administrative Officer
and Secretary
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EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit Number
99.1 Press Release, dated May 31, 1996,
of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
EXHIBIT 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jay S. Sidhu (610) 320-8416
Karl D. Gerhart (610) 320-8437
Linda Hagginbothom (610) 320-8498
SOVEREIGN
COMPLETES ACQUISITION
OF
WEST JERSEY BANCSHARES
WYOMISSING, PA....Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ/NMS:SVRN),
parent company of Sovereign Bank, FSB ("Sovereign"), today
announced the completion of the acquisition of West Jersey
Bancshares, Inc. ("West Jersey"), headquartered in Fairfield, New
Jersey.
In accordance with the merger agreement, West Jersey
shareholders of common stock will receive 0.8335 shares of
Sovereign Common Stock in exchange for each shares of West Jersey
Common Stock. Based upon a pricing period prescribed in the
merger agreement, West Jersey shareholders will receive total
value of $8.91 in exchange for each share of West Jersey Common
Stock. Sovereign will issue approximately 1.7 million new shares
of Common Stock.
The transaction will be tax free to Sovereign and to West
Jersey shareholders. The merger will be treated as a pooling-of-
interests for financial accounting purposes.
The addition of West Jersey's approximately $100 million in
assets increases, on a proforma basis, Sovereign's total assets,
deposits and equity to approximately $8.5 billion, $5.1 billion
and $447 million, respectively. Sovereign now has 122 offices
throughout eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and northern
Delaware.
Sovereign is the 4th largest financial institution
headquartered in Pennsylvania. Today, Friday, May 31, 1996,
Sovereign's Common Stock closed at $10.50 per share and its
Preferred Stock closed at $59.50 per shares.
THE END
