Santander Consumer USA (SC) SC 13D/ASantander Consumer USA / Banco Santander ownership change

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 13D

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Amendment No. 10)*

Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.

(Name of Issuer)

Common Stock

(Title of Class of Securities)

80283M 101

(CUSIP Number)

Gerard A. Chamberlain

Santander Holdings USA, Inc.

75 State Street

Boston, Massachusetts 02109

(617) 346-7200

(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications)

August 23, 2021

(Date of Event Which Requires Filing of this Statement)

If the filing person has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to report the acquisition that is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this schedule because of §§ 240.13d-1(e), 240.13d-1(f) or 240.13d-1(g), check the following box.  ☐

Note: Schedules filed in paper format shall include a signed original and five copies of the schedule, including all exhibits. See Rule 13d-7 for other parties to whom copies are to be sent.

The information required on the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be “filed” for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes).

This Amendment No. 10 (“Amendment No. 10”) amends the Schedule 13D originally filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) by Banco Santander, S.A., a Spanish bank organized under the laws of the Kingdom of Spain (“Santander”), and Santander Holdings USA, Inc., a Virginia corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Santander (“SHUSA,” and together with Santander, the “Reporting Persons”), on November 17, 2017 as amended by Amendment No. 1 filed with the SEC by Santander and SHUSA on January 3, 2019, Amendment No. 2 filed with the SEC by Santander and SHUSA on May 24, 2019, Amendment No. 3 filed with the SEC by Santander and SHUSA on June 28, 2019, Amendment No. 4 filed with the SEC by Santander and SHUSA on July 18, 2019, Amendment No. 5 filed with the SEC by Santander and SHUSA on October 15, 2019, Amendment No. 6 filed with the SEC by Santander and SHUSA on March 6, 2020, Amendment No. 7 filed with the SEC by Santander and SHUSA on June 10, 2020, Amendment No. 8 filed with the SEC by Santander and SHUSA on August 10, 2020, and Amendment No. 9 filed with the SEC by Santander and SHUSA on July 2, 2021 (collectively, the “Initial Statement”).

The Reporting Persons have not engaged in any transactions in the shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Common Stock”), of Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (“SC” or the “Issuer”), a Delaware corporation with its principal executive offices located at 1601 Elm St. Suite #800, Dallas, Texas 75201, since July 2, 2021, the date of Amendment No. 9.

Except as specifically provided herein, this Amendment No. 10 does not modify any of the information previously reported in the Initial Statement.

This Amendment No. 10 relates to the Common Stock.

There are no changes to Item 2 from the Initial Statement.

SHUSA anticipates using working capital and/or proceeds of debt financings for the Transaction (as defined below) described in Item 4 of this Amendment No. 10 (which Item 4 is incorporated herein by reference).

Item 4 of the Initial Statement is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:

Merger Agreement

On August 23, 2021, SHUSA entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with SC and Max Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of SHUSA (“Merger Sub”), pursuant to which the parties have agreed that SHUSA will acquire all outstanding shares of Common Stock not already owned by SHUSA via an all-cash tender offer (the “Tender Offer”) for $41.50 per share (the “Offer Price”), followed by a second-step merger (the “Merger” and together with the Tender Offer, the “Transaction”), in which Merger Sub will be merged with and into SC, with SC surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of SHUSA, and all outstanding shares of Common Stock not tendered in the Tender Offer (other than (i) shares of Common Stock held by SHUSA, (ii) shares of Common Stock owned by SC as treasury stock (other than shares in an employee benefit or compensation plan) or owned by any wholly owned subsidiary of either SC or SHUSA, in each case immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger, and (iii) shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger and held by a holder who is entitled to demand and properly demands appraisal for such shares in accordance with Section 262 of the Delaware General Corporation Law) will be converted into the right to receive the Offer Price in cash.

The board of directors of SC, acting on the unanimous recommendation of a special committee (the “Special Committee”) consisting of the independent and disinterested directors of SC and formed to negotiate and evaluate a potential transaction with SHUSA, has unanimously determined to recommend the Tender Offer to SC’s shareholders (other than SHUSA). The board of directors of SHUSA has unanimously approved the Transaction.

The Merger Agreement contains customary representations and warranties from the parties, and each party has agreed to customary covenants, including, among others, covenants relating to (i) the conduct of business during the interim period between the execution of the Merger Agreement and the effective time of the Merger (including prohibition on certain actions, such as amendment to organizational documents, payment of dividends or distributions, incurrence of certain capital expenditures, entry into a new line of business, and incurrence of certain indebtedness, among others) and (ii) the obligation to use reasonable best efforts to take all actions and cause to be done all things necessary, proper or advisable to consummate the Transaction.

Consummation of the Tender Offer is subject to certain customary conditions, including that: (i) the Merger Agreement has not been terminated; (ii) Santander and SHUSA must have obtained approval of the Transaction from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System under Section 163(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; (iii) there is no law or injunction prohibiting the Transaction or imposing certain conditions or restrictions in connection with the Transaction or pending action or proceeding by a governmental entity seeking to impose such conditions or restrictions; (iv) SC’s representations and warranties are accurate, subject to customary materiality standards; and (v) SC shall have complied in all material respects with its obligations under the Merger Agreement.

If the Tender Offer is consummated, the only condition to the Merger is the absence of a legal prohibition.

The Merger Agreement provides for certain termination rights for both SHUSA and SC (and, in the case of SC, with the approval of its Special Committee), including in the event that: (i) the parties agree to terminate the Merger Agreement by mutual agreement; (ii) the Tender Offer has not been consummated prior to March 31, 2022 (which date may be extended twice, each time for a three-month period, at either party’s option if required to obtain Federal Reserve approval); (iii) there is a final and non-appealable law or order prohibiting or permanently enjoining the Transaction; (iv) the other party breaches its covenants or representations that would result in the failure of a closing condition (in the case of SC’s covenants or representations) or that would reasonably be expected to prevent SHUSA or Merger Sub from consummating the Transaction (in the case of SHUSA’s covenants or representations), in each case subject to a cure period. In addition, SC may terminate the Merger Agreement following a change in SC’s board of director’s recommendation in favor of the Tender Offer in connection with the receipt of a “Superior Proposal” (as defined in the Merger Agreement), and SHUSA may terminate the Merger Agreement if SC’s board of directors changes its recommendation in favor of the Tender Offer or fails to publicly reaffirm its recommendation within 10 business days of a request from SHUSA to do so following the public announcement of an alternative acquisition proposal.

The Merger Agreement contains certain customary restrictions on SC and its representatives from soliciting alternative acquisition proposals prior to the closing of the Transaction.

The foregoing description of the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Merger Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 99.2 to this Amendment No. 10 and incorporated by reference into this Item 4. The Merger Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to provide investors and security holders with information regarding its terms. It is not intended to provide any other factual or financial information about SHUSA, SC, or any of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates. The representations, warranties and covenants contained in the Merger Agreement were made only for purposes of that agreement and as of specific dates; were solely for the benefit of the parties to the Merger Agreement; may be subject to limitations agreed upon by the parties, including being qualified by confidential disclosures made for the purposes of allocating contractual risk between the parties to the Merger Agreement instead of establishing those matters as facts; and may be subject to standards of materiality applicable to the contracting parties that differ from those applicable to investors. Investors should not rely on the representations, warranties and covenants or any description thereof as characterizations of the actual state of facts or condition of SHUSA, SC or any of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates. Moreover, information concerning the subject matter of the representations, warranties and covenants may change after the date of the Merger Agreement, which subsequent information may or may not be fully reflected in public disclosures by SHUSA or SC. The Merger Agreement should not be read alone, but should instead be read in conjunction with the other information regarding the companies and the Transaction that will be contained in, or incorporated by reference into, the tender offer statement on Schedule TO and Schedule 13E-3 and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9, as well as in the other filings that each of SHUSA and SC make with the SEC.

There are no changes to Item 5 from the Initial Statement.

The response to Item 4 of this Schedule 13D and Exhibit 99.2 to this Schedule 13D are incorporated by reference herein.

The following Exhibits are filed herewith:

Signature

After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, I certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.

Dated: August 25, 2021

SCHEDULE A

The name, business or residential address, title, present principal occupation or employment, and citizenship of each of the directors and executive officers of Santander and SHUSA are set forth below.

Santander

SHUSA