In Brief: Union Planters in Deal To Buy Merchants of Tex.

Union Planters Corp. announced plans Wednesday to acquire Merchants Bancshares, Houston, for $124 million in stock, or about 16.5 times Merchants' 1997 earnings.

Merchants has about $550 million of assets and 14 branches in three Texas counties. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter.

The deal marks Union Planters' entrance into Texas and continues the banking company's buying spree. Union Planters has eight acquisitions, representing $2.9 billion of assets, pending.

"Merchants fits the profile we are looking for," said William H. Andrews, a senior vice president at $18.1 billion-asset Union Planters. "It is a well-managed bank that performs well in a specific geographic area."

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