Wachovia Corp. on Monday said it would buy Westcorp Inc. and WFS Financial Inc. for nearly $4 billion in stock to expand its auto lending business.
Wachovia, striking a deal rumored over the past three weeks, will pay $3.42 billion for Irvine-based financial services company Westcorp, which owns 84 percent of independent auto-finance company WFS Financial. Wachovia will pay $490 million for the 16 percent public stake in WFS. Buying Westcorp will more than double the size of Wachovia’s dealer financial services business, making it the ninth-largest auto loan originator in the U.S., with offices in 47 states.
The combined auto finance business will be based in Irvine and will be run by WFS’ chief executive, Thomas Wolfe, who will report to Carlos Evans, head of Wachovia’s wholesale banking.
