Citi (NYSE:C) tonight was granted emergency injunctive relief extending
the Exclusivity Agreement between Citi and Wachovia Corp. (NYSE:WB)
until further order of the court. This relief was granted over the
objection of Wachovia. Justice Charles Ramos of the Supreme Court of the
State of New York issued the order.
Citi is prepared to continue negotiations with Wachovia on the parties’
previously agreed-to transaction.
As indicated by Citi in court filings, the Exclusivity Agreement, while
in effect, unconditionally bars Wachovia from negotiating or entering
into a merger/acquisition agreement with any party other than Citi.
Under the Judicial Order, Citi and Wachovia must appear before Judge
Ramos on Friday, October 10, 2008. Citi has made clear it is prepared to
resume negotiating in good faith to complete the transaction
contemplated by the agreement-in-principle that Citi and Wachovia
announced on Monday, September 29, 2008.
On September 29th, Citi and Wachovia both
announced an agreement-in-principle for Citi to acquire all of the
banking subsidiaries of Wachovia. At the time the Wachovia/Wells Fargo
transaction was announced, Citi was finalizing the agreements required
to consummate its FDIC-assisted open bank transaction with Wachovia.
Citi has been providing liquidity support to Wachovia since the day of
the announcement.
Citi remains willing to enter into an agreement with Wachovia which Citi
believes would deliver powerful capabilities of the two entities to
their respective stakeholders.
Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200
million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries,
providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a
broad range of financial products and services, including consumer
banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities
brokerage, and wealth management. Citi's major brand names include
Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney, Banamex, and Nikko.
Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com
or www.citi.com.
Citi
Media:
Christina Pretto, 212-559-9560
Shannon
Bell, 212-793-6206
Michael Hanretta, 212-559-9466
or
Investors:
Scott
Freidenrich, 212-559-2718
or
Fixed Income Investors:
Maurice
Raichelson, 212-559-5091
