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SunTrust won't raise bid
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July 16, 2001: 10:05 a.m. ET
Bank says its 1.081 share offer for Wachovia is better than First Union's
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - SunTrust Banks Inc. said it will not raise its offer for Wachovia Corp. in its bidding war for the bank with First Union Corp.
SunTrust (STI: up $1.11 to $66.56, Research, Estimates) said it believes its offer of 1.081 of its shares for each Wachovia (WB: up $0.37 to $70.87, Research, Estimates) share is the better offer, and that it wants to remove "market perception or expectation that we might raise our offer."
Shares of First Union (FTU: up $0.24 to $35.00, Research, Estimates) and SunTrust both rose on the announcement, while shares of Wachovia slipped on the news.
"We have said all along that our proposal is better than First Union's for Wachovia's shareholders given its higher current value, simpler and better dividend, and SunTrust's stronger currency and track record," SunTrust CEO L. Phillip Humann said.
First Union and Wachovia agreed to a deal in April under which First Union would swap two of its shares for each share of Wachovia, which represented a very narrow premium at the time. A month later SunTrust announced its bid for Wachovia.
The two sides have waged a fierce public relations and legal battle for North Carolina-based Wachovia, which operates in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. But hostile bids are rarely successful in the world of banking.
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Based on Friday's stock closing prices, First Union's offer for Wachovia is worth about $14.6 billion, while SunTrust's offer is $14.9 billion. 
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