Wells Fargo buying financial planning operation

Friday, March 23, 2001 | 11:07 a.m.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Wells Fargo & Co., the fourth-largest U.S. bank and the largest bank operator in Nevada, said today it's buying H.D. Vest Inc. for $127.5 million in cash to expand its financial planning business.

Wells Fargo will pay $21.03 in cash for each H.D. Vest share and for each option, an amount equal to the difference between $21.03 and the option's exercise price. That's three times H.D. Vest's closing price of $7 Thursday. The bank expects to complete the acquisition in the next three months.

H.D. Vest, based in Irving, Texas, has more than 6,000 tax and financial adviser independent contractors, providing financial, tax and estate planning advice to some 1.8 million individuals, families and small businesses across the nation. The company, founded by Herb Vest in 1983, offers services similar to H&R Block Inc. and manages more than $16 billion in assets.

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