BB&T to buy SunTrust in biggest U.S. bank deal in a decade

[February 07, 2019]   By Aparajita Saxena

(Reuters) - BB&T Corp will buy SunTrust Banks Inc for about $28 billion in an all-stock deal, the regional lenders said on Thursday, creating the sixth largest U.S. lender in the biggest bank deal since the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

The combined company will operate under a new name and have around $442 billion in assets, $301 billion in loans and $324 billion in deposits, and will rival U.S. Bancorp that has about $467 billion in assets.

Its footprint will cover the East Coast, with new corporate headquarters to be situated in Charlotte, North Carolina. The combined company will retain operations in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia, the home markets for both companies.

The deal comes at a time when the Trump administration is pushing for easing crisis-era regulations which restricted expansion and added increased regulatory scrutiny on big banks.

Also, changes in the U.S. tax laws that lowered corporate tax also freed up capital and Wall Street has long been expecting a wave of dealmaking in the banking sector.

The two companies called it a merger of equals, valued at $66 billion.

As part of the deal, SunTrust shareholders will receive 1.295 shares of BB&T for each share they own. The per share deal value of $62.85 is at a 7 percent premium to SunTrust's closing price on Wednesday, according to a Reuters calculation.

A BB&T bank is pictured in Alexandria, Virginia July 22, 2010. REUTERS/Molly Riley

Shares of Atlanta-based SunTrust rose 10 percent to $64.60 before the opening bell, above the acquisition price, while those of BB&T rose 5 percent to $51.20.

BB&T shareholders will own 57 percent of the combined company and SunTrust will own the rest.

Analyst Stephen Scouten of brokerage Sandler O'Neill said he expected the deal to get regulatory approval. "These are both very clean banks. So ultimately, (it) should get done."

The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, will likely result in annual cost savings of around $1.6 billion by 2022, the companies said. The merger will generate an internal rate of return of about 18 percent.

Kelly King, BB&T's chief executive officer, will be the CEO of the combined company until Sept.12, 2021, after which SunTrust CEO William Rogers Jr will take over.

(Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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