) for $2.16 billion in stock, plus assumption of $53 million in debt. The deal was supported by the FDIC, which said it would provide loss protection for $312 billion of mortgage-related and other Wachovia assets. The deal did not include Wachovia's asset management, retail brokerage, and certain sections of its wealth management businesses. In a statement, Wachovia said the Wells Fargo transaction was preferred over Citi's, "This deal enables us to keep Wachovia intact and preserve the value of an integrated company, without government support." Wells Fargo added, "Wachovia’s brokerage and asset management businesses, which would have been left behind in the prior proposal, are tightly interwoven with Wachovia’s core banking business - and this agreement avoids the complexity and unavoidable loss of value in trying to separate them." Charlotte would serve as the headquarters for the combined company's East Coast retail and commercial/corporate banking businesses, while St. Louis would remain the headquarters of Wachovia Securities. Wells Fargo and Wachovia said the combined company would have $1.42 trillion in assets, $787 billion in deposits, 48 million customers, $258 million in mutual funds, 280,000 employees, 10,761 retail banking locations in 39 states and D.C., and 12,227 ATM locations. In terms of community bank deposits, the combined company would have leading market share in AK, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, ID, MN, IA, MT, NB, NJ, NM, NC, SD, TX and VA. In response to the Wells Fargo-Wachovia agreement, Citi said Wachovia was in "clear breach" of its Exclusivity Agreement with Citi and that Wells Fargo's "conduct constitutes tortious interference with the Exclusivity Agreement." Citi added that it had been providing liquidity support to Wachovia since its Sept. 29 announcement. "Citi has demanded that Wachovia and Wells Fargo terminate and not proceed with any proposed transaction...Citi has substantial legal rights regarding Wachovia and this transaction," warned Citi in the statement. To review further details of Citi's "Agreement in Principle" with Wachovia, follow this link.
This article appears in CoStar's Retail News Roundup: Oct. 5 to 11, 2008, a weekly column covering retail store expansions, closings, bankruptcies, acquisitions/mergers/sales, new retail developments, personnel changes, sustainability, and more.
This week in the Retail Roundup, CoStar reports on expansions or new concepts at Kohl's and Saladworks; new retail developments in NC, PA, CA, TX, NV and IL; acquisition, merger, loan or sale activity at Sembler and Cole Companies, Wells Fargo and Wachovia and Citi, WP Carey and Lifetime Fitness, Regency Centers, Vertical Holdings, Forever 21 and Mervyns, Pershing Square and Borders, and Macerich; closings, cutbacks or bankruptcies at Circuit City, Big Dogs, and Mothers Work; personnel announcements at Grubb & Ellis and Crossman & Company; sustainability at Denny's, HEB, Regency Centers, Chipotle, and more.