Wells Fargo to Buy Bank Holdings, Other Businesses in 7 States

Wells Fargo & Co. said Friday that it agreed to buy banks and other businesses in seven states owned by Carl Pohlad and his family.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo is purchasing banking companies that have $5.6 billion in assets, 117 locations, $4 billion in deposits, 2,300 employees and 300,000 customer households. Terms were not disclosed.

The Pohlads own Marquette Bancshares and Texas Financial Bancorporation, among other holdings.

Wells Fargo said the combined assets of the Pohlad-owned financial holding companies are the largest privately held banking organization in the United States, with $6.5 billion in assets and operations in 17 states.

Pohlad also owns the Minnesota Twins.

Pending regulatory approval, the companies expect to complete the deal early next year.

The sale means an undetermined number of overlapping jobs will be eliminated, said Jim Campbell, chief executive of Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota.

In an effort to retain as many people as possible, Campbell said, many open positions will be frozen to ensure opportunities for affected employees, he said.

The deal includes Marquette and Meridian Capital banks in several Midwestern states and Bank of Santa Fe branches in New Mexico.

Wells Fargo also is buying the Marquette Financial Group, a Minneapolis-based full-service broker-dealer, and Marquette Equipment Finance, which has $97 million in loans and leases.

Wells Fargo shares fell $1.20 to close at $43.05 on the New York Stock Exchange.