Ameritrade to Acquire Bidwell & Company; Third Transaction in Seven Months Will Add 100,000 Accounts and Expected to be Accretive to Earnings.Business Editors OMAHA Omaha, city, United States Omaha (ō`məhä, –hô), city (1990 pop. 335,795), seat of Douglas co., E Nebr., on the west bank of the Missouri River; inc. 1857. , Neb. & PORTLAND Portland, town, England Portland, town (1991 pop. 12,945), Dorset, S England. It is on the Isle of Portland, a small rocky peninsula. Portland stone has been used in St. Paul's Cathedral and other important London buildings. Lobsters and crabs are harvested. , Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 2003 Ameritrade Holding Corporation (Nasdaq:AMTD AMTD Arithmetic Mean Temperature Difference AMTD Automatic Magnetic Tape Distribution AMTD Affordability and Manufacturing Technology Demonstration ) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the brokerage firm Bidwell & Company. Bidwell has approximately 100,000 accounts and $5 billion in customer assets. The Bidwell accounts are quality accounts and currently generate approximately the same revenue per account as Ameritrade. As part of the transaction, Ameritrade Advisor Services(1) will benefit from the addition of 88 non-affiliated Registered Investment Advisors Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) is a designation obtainable in the United States by an individual who has registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or state regulatory agency (where the primary business is situated or multiple States in some cases) in who hold over $546 million in assets under management Assets Under Management (AUM) is a term used by financial services companies in the mutual fund and money management or investment management business to gauge how much money they are managing. . The transaction is expected to close in early 2004, subject to regulatory approval, and will be funded from available cash. For Ameritrade, this transaction follows its agreement to acquire the accounts of BrokerageAmerica announced in October 2003, the acquisition of the accounts of Mydiscountbroker.com in June 2003, last year's merger with Datek Online Holdings Corp. and the 2001 acquisition of National Discount Brokers Corporation. "Clients of Bidwell & Company will continue to enjoy the service and competitive commissions they are accustomed to having. This is great news for our shareholders as well. The number of accounts combined with the quality of the accounts and expected revenues indicate the deal will be accretive and enhance our top line growth," said Joe Moglia Joe Moglia is the current CEO of TD Ameritrade, the largest online discount brokerage firm in the world. Born in Queens, New York, Moglia was a football coach for 16 years, finishing as a Dartmouth College assistant from 1981-1983. , chief executive officer at Ameritrade. About Ameritrade Holding Corporation Ameritrade Holding Corporation has a 28-year history of servicing self-directed investors. Ameritrade develops and provides innovative brokerage products and services tailored to meet the varying investing and portfolio management needs of individual investors and institutional distribution partners. With 3 million client accounts, Ameritrade, Inc., a subsidiary of Ameritrade Holding Corporation, is a leader in the online brokerage business, recently receiving Forbes "Best of Web" honors as well as an overall four-star rating, and a top rating for "Ease of Use" and "Research Amenities" on the Barron's 2003 Online Broker Survey. For more information, please visit www.amtd.com. About Bidwell & Company H. Gerald Bidwell founded Bidwell & Company in 1984. The firm has 61 employees, two branch offices in Oregon Oregon, city, United States Oregon, city (1990 pop. 18,334), Lucas co., NW Ohio, a suburb adjacent to Toledo, on Lake Erie; inc. 1958. It is a port with railroad-owned and -operated docks. The city has industries producing oil, chemicals, and metal products. and transacts most of its self-directed retail business online. Bidwell Institutional Services, a division of Bidwell & Company, serves 88 investment advisors Investment Advisor 1. A person making investment recommendations in return for a flat fee or percentage of assets managed, known as a commission. 2. For mutual fund companies, it is the individual who has the day-to-day responsibility of investing and monitoring the cash and . (1) Ameritrade Advisor Services, division of Ameritrade, Inc. Member NASD/SIPC |
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