Compass Completes Acquisition of Western Bancshares Inc.Business Editors BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 14, 2000 Marks Entry Into Nation's Fifth Fastest-Growing State With Purchase of Largest Locally-Owned Bank in Albuquerque Sunbelt-based Compass Bancshares Compass Bancshares, Inc. is a privately held company based in Birmingham, Alabama. Its subsidiary, Compass Bank, is a Southwestern financial holding company with $47 billion in assets and 417 full-service banking offices in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas. Inc. (Nasdaq:CBSS CBSS Council of Baltic Sea States CBSS Craft and Boat Support System CBSS Coastal Border Surveillance System (MSSC) CBSS Closed-Breach Scavenging System (compressed air system for removing smoke from tank gun tubes) ) today completed the acquisition of Western Bancshares Inc., the largest locally-owned bank in Albuquerque, N.M., with approximately $305 million in assets, $245 million in deposits and nine full-service banking offices. With successful operations in the adjacent states of Texas and Arizona, the move marks Compass' strategic entry into the nation's fifth fastest-growing state. Under terms of the definitive agreement signed last July, Compass will exchange approximately 3,333,333 shares of its common stock for all the outstanding common stock of Western Bancshares. Home to the University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM) is a public university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was founded in 1889. It also offers multiple bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degree programs in all areas of the arts, sciences, and engineering. , Kirtland Air Force Base Kirtland Air Force Base is located in the southeast quadrant of Albuquerque, New Mexico, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base is the third largest installation in Air Force Materiel Command, covering 51,558 acres (209 km²) and employing over 23,000 people, and the Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories, which is managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation (a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation), is a major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratory with two locations, one in Albuquerque, New , Albuquerque is also a magnet for high technology companies. Albuquerque recently was ranked by Entrepreneur magazine Entrepreneur Magazine is a publication that carries news stories about entrepreneurialism, small business management, and business opportunities. This magazine is published monthly, with a total of 12 issues annually. (No special extra issues are published. as the best western U.S. city in which to start a business and called "the city of the future" by Forbes magazine. "Compass' entry into New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). through the acquisition of a well-managed and highly-profitable bank further solidifies our presence in the fastest-growing state in the Southwest," Compass Chairman and Chief Executive D. Paul Jones Jr. said. "We are pleased to welcome Western Bank, its customers, employees and shareholders to the Compass family," Jones stated. "Compass is committed to providing the same outstanding personal service that Western customers have come to expect over the past thirty years." Western Chairman William T. Fietz said, "We are delighted to be joining an outstanding organization. By uniting with Compass, we have the opportunity to better serve our customers through a broader range of products and services." "As we move forward, we will be able to offer our customers retail investment services, asset management and an entire line of business banking products including treasury management services and those tailored for small businesses," Fietz added. Compass Bancshares Inc. is a $17.7 billion Sunbelt-based financial services company with more than 6,700 employees and 298 full-service banking offices in Texas, Florida, Arizona and Alabama. When the pending acquisition of MegaBank Financial Corporation in Denver, Colo., is completed, Compass will have assets of more than $18.6 billion and operate 316 banking offices in the six states. Compass is among the top 40 U.S. bank holding companies by asset size and ranks among the top earners of its size based on return on equity. The company's earnings per share have increased for 11 consecutive years and dividends per share Dividends per share Dividend paid for the past 12 months divided by the number of common shares outstanding, as reported by a company. The number of shares often is determined by a weighted average of shares outstanding over the reporting term. have increased for 18 consecutive years. Shares of Compass' common stock are traded through the Nasdaq stock market Nasdaq stock market The first electronic stock market listing over 5000 companies. The Nasdaq stock market comprises two separate markets, namely the Nasdaq National Market, which trades large, active securities and the Nasdaq Smallcap Market that trades emerging growth companies. under the symbol CBSS. |
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