M T Bank

M T Bank, Wilmington Trust Corp., Bank of Delaware, founded by du Pont family and undermined by souring loans, agreed to be sold to M & T Bank Corp. and 351 million shares, or about half its market value last week .
The agreement is “the best option for our shareholders and our customers and employees,” according to a Business Wire has to Wilmington, which has its headquarters in Delaware the same name. Investors will have 0,051 share of Buffalo, M & T for each share of Wilmington they have.
The lender’s 107 year-old has recorded losses, driven in part by soured commercial real estate loans and investments in funds of trust preferred securities. The bank cut its quarterly dividend to one cent last year, and CEO Ted Cecala retired in June after 14 years at the helm.
unit of Wilmington Trust Wealth Management, focusing on clients in the U.S. and with 10 million or more in liquid assets, managed and 25 million to 30 June.
Wilmington Trust, said in a regulatory filing in August, after one and 116 million net loss in the second quarter “, with our strong capital position at June 30,” with a capital ratio based on risk 16.65 percent, compared with 10 percent minimum required by the U.S. Federal Reserve to be considered “well capitalized.”
The U.S. Treasury, through its Program for Troubled Assets Relief, and purchased 330 million in preferred stock at Wilmington Trust in December 2008.
T. Coleman du Pont, the former president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., founded the bank in 1903. It is now widespread.

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Wilmington Trust

Wilmington Trust and the M&T Bank Corporation said on Monday that they would merge, creating a major lender in the eastern United States and a global provider of wealth management.

The deal is a stock-for-stock transaction in which Wilmington shareholders will get 0.051372 shares of M&T for every share of Wilmington. The deal is worth $351 million and is expected to close in the middle of next year.

M&T is based in Buffalo and holds $68.2 billion in assets, while Wilmington has $10.4 billion in assets, and is based in Wilmington, Del.

“As our third quarter earnings announcement shows, we continue to face difficult financial realities associated with the credit quality of the loan portfolio in our banking business,” Wilmington Trust’s chief, Donald E. Foley, said. “As a result, our board examined a range of strategic alternatives and has held discussions with several potential partners.”

M&T will obtain 48 branches and 225 ATMs, with no overlap in the two lenders’ branch networks, as well as Wilmington’s wealth advisory business, which works with high-net-worth clients in 36 countries.

Wilmington hired Lazard as financial adviser and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as counsel. M&T hired RBC Capital Markets and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Morgan Stanley provided the fairness opinion.

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