Back in October 2008, Wells Fargo (headquartered in California) made a deal to acquire a hobbled Wachovia Corp. in a 12.7 billion dollar take over. The Company has set aside $74 billion to absorb the cost of potential bad debts stemming from the marriage and and additional $8 billion for credit losses.

Wells Fargo successfully completed its merger with Wachovia Corporation effective December 31, 2008. They acquired all outstanding shares of common stock of Wachovia in a stock exchange transaction and offered 0.19/share on its common stock in exchange for common stocks held by Wachovia stockholders.

As a result of these transactions, Wells Fargo acquired all of Wachovia's business transactions, obligations,and banking deposits. Wachovia's stock symbol "WB" was retired on December 31, 2008. Wells Fargo is now a national powerhouse, with 6,650 locations, 48 million customers and 276,000 employees.

The acquisition of Wachovia Corp. doubled the companies customer base and extended its reach to the eastern seaboard.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Wells Fargo and the ambiance it will bring to the former Wachovia image, to its employees, and to its customers.

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