First Union issued a document to employees and stockholders Thursday highlighting what it thinks are the top 10 reasons why its proposed merger with Wachovia Corp. is better for Wachovia stockholders than a competing deal from SunTrust Banks.
"One of the main things is that we have a larger brokerage operation," says a First Union spokesperson.
A First Union-Wachovia merger would have 8,350 registered reps, making it the sixth largest brokerage in the United States, FUS says. A Suntrust-Wachovia combination would have just 674 brokers with 101 coming from Suntrust. That combination would rank 30th nationally, according to FUS.
Since the document was posted on the employee intranet and sent to stockholders, it was also filed with the SEC.
Among the other claims FUS will make in its filing are that an FUS-Wachovia combination will have a stronger business mix, faster growth, larger capitalization and more long-term potential for stockholders.
On April 16, 2001, First Union proposed a merger with Wachovia. Less than a month later, SunTrust came in with a bid. According to SunTrust, its offer of $14.7 billion represents a 17% premium to the implied value of First Union’s proposed acquisition of Wachovia.
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