UK-based Equiniti Group agrees to acquire Wells Fargo Shareowner Services
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.
