Wachovia, the fourth largest US bank, has bought SouthTrust Corp for $14.3 billion in stock. It will enable Wachovia to expand in the fast-growing south-east of the US.
The price puts SouthTrust stock at a 20 per cent premium over the shares’ Friday closing price of $34.80 on the Nasdaq.
The purchase will help Wachovia Chief Executive Ken Thompson expand his Charlotte, North Carolina-based company in the high-growth markets of Florida, Georgia and Texas.
The combined company will have about $464 billion of assets, $267 billion of deposits, 3,200 banking offices, 5,300 automated teller machines and 98,000 employees, Wachovia said.