Wells Fargo & Co. announced a deal Monday to buy six bank branches in Colorado and said its head of acquisitions activity, John Ganoe, will retire in March.
Bruce Helsel, 48, the deputy head of corporate development and a 20-year Wells Fargo veteran, will succeed Mr. Ganoe, an executive vice president and the head of corporate development. Mr. Ganoe, 61, became the head of strategic planning and acquisitions in 1990 at Norwest Corp. and assumed his current role in 1998 after it bought the old Wells Fargo.
On Monday, Wells Fargo said it would acquire Fremont Bank Corp.'s banking operations in Canon City and Pueblo. The deal is expected to close next year. Wells did not say how much it would pay.
The privately held Fremont Bank Corp. owns the four-branch Fremont National Bank of Canon City and the two-branch Centennial Bank of Pueblo. The two banks had combined assets of $167 million as of Aug. 31.
Wells chairman and chief executive officer Richard Kovacevich said Monday that weakness in the banking industry next year should increase acquisition opportunities, but that Wells will continue to look for deals only in its current area of operations.
He also said option-expensing scheduled to take effect next year will reduce Wells Fargo's 2006 earnings by 6 cents a share.
The San Francisco banking company is expected to earn $4.52 a share this year and $5.02 next year, according to analysts.
