The Vulcan Bank Meld

Kevin Connor has found something rather interesting with respect to the Wells Fargo-Wachovia merger: Donald Rice, who was Wells Fargo’s (WFC) chairman until 2007, sits on the board of a company called Vulcan Materials (VMC). Also on the Vulcan board are Donald James and John Baker, who sat on the Wachovia board.

When Wachovia was incorporated into Wells Fargo, a dozen of its directors found themselves with no seat on the new board. But Donald James and John Baker — the men who had sat with Rice on the board of Vulcan — were whisked over painlessly to the Wells Fargo board.

Connor concludes:

The data can be interpreted a few different ways, but it strongly suggests that the Vulcan Three were at the center of this deal — that Rice, James, and Baker played key behind-the-scenes roles in the Wells-Wachovia merger.

There’s no smoking gun here, of course. But it’s certainly an intriguing hypothesis.

Comments

[J Stew:]

Who Cares

Oct 14 05:12 PM

[Phillip Jain:]

I thought WFC was reacting to C's bid?

Oct 16 02:42 AM