Here are the details: First Union To Buy Wachovia By PAUL NOWELL .c The Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - First Union Corp., the nation's sixth largest bank, is buying Wachovia Corp. for about $13 billion in stock in a deal that would unite the two North Carolina banking rivals into the nation's fourth biggest banking company. The deal announced Monday would create a bank with $324 billion in assets, trailing only Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and J.P. Morgan & Chase Co. among U.S. banks. About 7,000 jobs will be cut over the next three years as part of the deal, the banks said, roughly half of them through attrition. That represents about 7.8 percent of its combined 90,296 employees. The combined entity, which will be called Wachovia Corp., will have 19 million customers, 90,000 employees, 2,900 banking branches and nearly 600 brokerage offices. Both boards have approved the transaction. First Union is offering two of its shares for each share of Wachovia, which would value Wachovia at about $63.84 a share - a premium of only 6 percent over Thursday's closing price of $60.20. In early trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Wachovia rose 10 cents at $60.30, while shares of First Union fell $2.02 to $29.90. Wachovia shareholders will own about 27 percent of the combined company and will get a special one-time dividend of about 48 cents a share because First Union recently slashed its dividend. First Union has about 2,100 bank branches in 11 eastern states and Washington, D.C., while Wachovia has more than 650 offices, primarily in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The two banks are structuring the deal similar to a merger of equals, a rare step given that the framework is usually used when two companies are similar in size and market capitalization. In this case, First Union with $253 billion in assets dwarfs Wachovia, which has only $74 billion in assets. L.M. ``Bud'' Baker Jr., Wachovia's chairman and chief executive, will be chairman of the combined company, which will be based in First Union's hometown of Charlotte. Currently, Wachovia has dual headquarters in Winston Salem, N.C., and Atlanta. ``Together, this new company will have what superregional banks rarely have: a full line of financial products, services and distribution capabilities, sufficient density of coverage and depth of talent to leverage its leading share in key growth markets, strong capital position and an experienced management team. These strengths will enable superior growth rates in revenues and profits,'' said Baker. Meanwhile, First Union's chief, G. Kennedy Thompson, will be president and CEO of the combined entity. Each side would get nine board seats. ``Wachovia and First Union have a common vision, common values, common markets - and now a common name,'' said Thompson. ``While scale is important in this business, this merger is about getting better, not just bigger.'' The deal comes only days after Bank One Corp. agreed to purchase Wachovia's $8 billion consumer credit card portfolio for undisclosed terms. On the Net: http://www.firstunion.com http://www.wachovia.com
Would this be a good time to verify a charged off account from 1999 with Wachovia? Maybe with the choas of such a deal they won't be able to find it
