Jan. 29--Shareholders of Sovereign Bancorp Inc. in a special meeting on Wednesday approved the sale of the firm to Banco Santander, Madrid, for about $1.6 billion.

Sovereign said the transaction, originally valued at $1.9 billion, or $3.81 per share, is expected to close Friday.

The vote, held in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York, was the final step in the process that brings an end to local ownership of a banking franchise that traces its roots back to the beginning of the 20th century.

Sovereign said 96 percent of shareholders who submitted votes voted to approve the deal, which technically was to approve the sale of 75.6 percent of Sovereign shares; Santander already owns the remainder, and said Monday that it would issue 177.4 million new shares to finance the acquisition.

As part of the settlement of a shareholder lawsuit last week, Santander agreed to maintain the jobs of Sovereign employees in Pennsylvania for at least one year following completion of the acquisition.

Sovereign employs about 1,493 in Berks County. Sovereign Bank headquarters is in Wyomissing.

"We think the future looks bright for the area," said Ed Shultz, Sovereign director of communications and senior vice president.

The Sovereign brand will remain, at least for now: Santander has no branch network in the United States.

Shultz said about 50 attended Wednesday's meeting.

Asked to articulate the advantages of the deal, Shultz said: "Santander is a very strong, global financial institution twice selected as the No. 1 bank in the world (by Euro magazine); very customer focused; and well respected worldwide as a worldclass institution."

Wednesday's vote brought to a climax Santander's tumultuous, nearly four-year relationship with Sovereign, which began when then-Chairman Jay S. Sidhu announced a controversial agreement to sell a 19.8 percent stake in Sovereign to Santander for $2.4 billion, to fi nance Sovereign's acquisition of Independence Community Bank Corp., New York, for $3.6 billion.

Some of Sovereign's largest shareholders railed against the deal, and although Sidhu left his job, the deal stuck.

Santander later increased its stake in Sovereign to about 24.4 percent.

Although the 2005 agreement between the banks stipulated that Santander would have to pay at least $38.10 per share if it intended to pursue a complete buyout of Sovereign, that changed late last year when Sovereign's shares fell as low as $2.20 a share and fear of a potential run on the bank prompted Sovereign's board to strike the minimum-price stipulation.

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