Wells Fargo to Offer $10B in Common Stock

Wells Fargo & Co. said it will offer $10 billion of common stock to the public.

As recently as a week ago, Wells Fargo said it would raise up to $20 billion, primarily through the sale of common stock, for its purchase of Wachovia Corp.

The bank declined further comment.

Wells Fargo last week also issued 25,000 preferred shares to the U.S. Treasury Department in exchange for $25 billion as part of the government's plan to rescue large U.S. banks.

"The combination of the market capital and the capital investment from the government will enable us to finance the Wachovia acquisition, to continue to build our franchise and gain market share as we've done throughout the credit crunch and to maintain one of the strongest balance sheets and highest capital ratios among U.S. financial services companies," Chief Financial Officer Howard Atkins said in a press release Oct. 29.

The San Francisco bank last month offered to pay $15.1 billion for Wachovia three days after Citigroup Inc. reached an agreement in principle to acquire Wachovia's banking operation, just hours before the FDIC was to take over the Charlotte-based bank. Citi, Wells Fargo and Wachovia later worked out an arrangement for Wells Fargo to take over Wachovia.

Wells Fargo's shares fell 4.8% to $30.15 in after-hours trading.

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