NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Wachovia Corp., the nation's fourth-largest bank, is in talks to acquire SouthTrust Corp. for about $13.8 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing people familiar with the negotiations.
A deal could be announced as early as Monday, although people familiar with the situation cautioned that it was not yet complete, the WSJ Online said.
The Journal said the deal would value SouthTrust shares at $41.88 each, a 20 percent premium from Friday's closing price of $34.80, which was just 42 cents below the 52-week high. Wachovia was up 8 cents Friday to $47, $2.49 below the 52-week high.
The deal would strengthen the southern base of Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia, and give it a presence in the competitive Texas market, the WSJ Online said.
Neither Wachovia, nor SouthTrust could be reached for comment, both the WSJ Online and Reuters reported.
SouthTrust (SOTR: Research, Estimates) is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala. At the end of March it had $52.67 billion in assets, 712 banking offices and 894 automated teller machines in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
Wachovia (WB: Research, Estimates) is based in Charlotte, N.C., and had assets of $411.0 billion at the end of March.
The deal would follow on the heels of Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI: Research, Estimates)'s agreement in May to acquire National Commerce Financial Corp. (NCF: Research, Estimates) That merger would create a top 10 U.S. bank and fill holes in SunTrust's business in the southeastern United States.
In May, it completed its purchase of FloridaFirst Bancorp Inc., adding 19 branches in central Florida.
A deal would be Wachovia's response to recent deals by the nation's top two banking companies: Bank of America (BAC: Research, Estimates)'s agreement to buy FleetBoston and J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM: Research, Estimates)'s deal to buy Bank One (ONE: Research, Estimates).
-- Reuters contributed to this report.
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