Battle of the banks - Citigroup upset with Wells Fargo deal for Wachovia

October 3, 1:00 PMBusiness ExaminerDarrell Proctor

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Citigroup thought it had a deal to buy struggling Wachovia. Until Wells Fargo swooped in with a $15.1 billion bid that ended a government plan for Citigroup to take over Wachovia's banking operations.

Citigroup said the Wells Fargo deal was a "breach" of its acquisition rights.

Said Citigroup in a statement: "Wachovia's agreement to a transaction with Wells Fargo is in clear breach of an exclusivity agreement between Citi and Wachovia.

"Citi was negotiating in good faith and (had) nearly completed the definitive agreements required to consummate the Citi/Wachovia transaction that was announced on Monday. Citi has demanded that Wachovia and Wells Fargo terminate and not proceed with any proposed transaction."

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo and Wachovia issued a joint statement in which they said the two had "signed a definitive agreement for the merger of the two companies" without government assistance.

Here's more information from the Wells/Wachovia statement and an outline of the deal. And Wachovia customers can go here to find out how the deal affects them.