Wells Fargo to Sell Its Shareowner Services Business
July 12 2017 - 2:15AM
Business Wire
UK-based Equiniti Group agrees to acquire
Wells Fargo Shareowner Services
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced today it has
entered into an agreement to sell its Shareowner Services business
to Equiniti Group plc for $227 million. Equiniti Group is the
leading provider of share registration and associated investor
services in the United Kingdom. Pending regulatory and Equiniti
shareholder approvals, and the satisfaction of customary closing
conditions, the transaction is expected to close by the end of Q1
2018.
“In joining Equiniti, our extremely talented team of US-based
shareowner services professionals will be ideally positioned to
continue to provide their current customers with products and
services that best meet their needs, and support Equiniti’s growth
plans for the future,” said Ed Blakey, head of Wells Fargo
Commercial Capital. “We believe this sale will also allow us to
continue to sharpen our focus on areas of our business that are
essential for growth.”
Wells Fargo Shareowner Services (WFSS), a division of Wells
Fargo Bank, N.A., provides shareowner services in the U.S.,
including stock transfer agent, corporate action, and investment
plan services to more than 1200 public and private companies across
the U.S. Founded in 1929, and headquartered in Mendota Heights, MN,
the business includes a seasoned team of professionals. As part of
the transaction, more than 400 WFSS team members are expected to
transition to Equiniti.
Equiniti is a London-based, publicly listed company [EQN.L] and
a leading provider of sophisticated technology, administration,
processing and payment services solutions. Equiniti is the U.K.’s
leading provider of share registration and associated investor
services, and also has market leading positions in administration
of employee share plans, pension administration and software, and
employee benefit plans.
“Joining the Equiniti team will be a great benefit to our
clients and team members,” said Todd May, head of Wells Fargo
Shareowner Services. “Our strong culture of keeping clients and
team members at the heart of everything we do is synergistic with
Equiniti’s culture. Equiniti’s sophisticated technology will
ultimately empower our team members to offer enhanced services to
clients and our client’s shareowners, while continuing to improve
on our industry-leading servicing capabilities. Wells Fargo and
Equiniti will work together to ensure a seamless transition.”
Wells Fargo Securities served as exclusive financial advisor to
Wells Fargo, with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen, & Katz serving as
legal counsel. Annual operating results for WFSS are not material
to Wells Fargo.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified,
community-based financial services company with $2.0 trillion in
assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial
needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and
headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking,
insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial
finance through more than 8,500 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the
internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42
countries and territories to support customers who conduct business
in the global economy. With approximately 273,000 team members,
Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States.
Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017
rankings of America’s largest corporations. News, insights and
perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo
Stories.
About Equiniti
Equiniti is a specialist outsourcer delivering
technology-enabled solutions to a wide range of organizations,
including 70 percent of the companies in the FTSE 100. It is the
UK’s leading provider of share registration and associated investor
services, and also has market leading positions in the
administration of employee share plans, pension administration and
software, and employee benefit schemes. Equiniti's services, which
are delivered by over 4,300 employees, benefit 28 million people in
the UK and 120 countries around the world.
Cautionary Statement about Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements, including
with respect to the proposed transaction with Equiniti. Because
forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations
and assumptions regarding the future, they are subject to inherent
risks and uncertainties. Do not unduly rely on forward-looking
statements as actual results could differ materially from
expectations. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date
made, and we do not undertake to update them to reflect changes or
events that occur after that date. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from our expectations include, without
limitation, the risk that the sale of Wells Fargo Shareowner
Services may not be consummated in a timely manner or at all,
including as a result of a failure to satisfy a condition to
closing (including regulatory or shareholder approvals); the risk
that the anticipated benefits of the sale to us may not be realized
as presently contemplated; and the risk that transaction-related
costs may be greater than anticipated. For information about other
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
our expectations, refer to our reports filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, including the discussion under “Risk
Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2016, as filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and available on its website at www.sec.gov.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170711006699/en/
MediaJen Hibbard,
415-396-4609Jen.hibbard@wellsfargo.comorInvestor
RelationsJim Rowe, 415-396-8216Jim.rowe@wellsfargo.com
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