WASHINGTON, Oct 3: US bank Wells Fargo said on Friday it was buying rival Wachovia for $15.1 billion in stock, ending a government-backed plan for Citigroup to take over Wachovia’s banking operations.

Wells Fargo and Wachovia “signed a definitive agreement for the merger of the two companies” without government assistance, the two firms said in a statement.

It said the deal covered “all of Wachovia’s banking operations in a whole company transaction requiring no financial assistance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.” Wells Fargo will record Wachovia’s distresses assets “at fair value,” the statement said. The acquisition will cost Wells Fargo some $10 billion in integration expenses, and the San Francisco-based bank will issue up to $20 billion in securities to bolster its capital position.

Under terms of the deal approved unanimously by the boards of both companies, Wachovia shareholders will receive 0.1991 shares of Wells Fargo common stock in exchange for each share of Wachovia common stock, they said.—AFP