Bank of America Corporation today said it agreed to buy MBNA Corp. for $35 billion to make the US bank one of the world's biggest card issuers.
The stock-and-cash transaction will double Bank of America's card base to $40 million, giving it $143 billion in card balances. The bank will become a top rival to Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co. in credit cards.
Bank of America, which last year acquired FleetBoston Financial Corp. for $48 billion, has about 10 per cent of US deposits, the maximum allowed, forcing it to look elsewhere for growth.
The transaction values MBNA,the world's largest independent credit card lender, at $27.50 per share, a premium of 30.6 per cent to MBNA's Wednesday closing share price.
MBNA shareholders will receive 0.5009 of a Bank of America share plus $4.125 in cash for each MBNA share.
It is not known if the move will result in job losses in Ireland. MBNA employes 1,100 people in the Republic.