DALLAS -- Wells Fargo & Co. and Century Bancshares Inc. said that they have signed a definitive agreement for Wells Fargo to acquire Century Bancshares and its banking operations in Dallas-Fort Worth, and Texarkana, Texas and Arkansas in a stock-for-stock merger. Century Bank is owned by Truman Arnold, a Texarkana oilman and investor who bought the former First National Bank of New Boston and renamed it in 1998. Before entering banking, Arnold built a successful multistate chain of Road Runner convenience stores. Arnold in 1989 sold his Road Runner chain to French conglomerate Total Petroleum [image-nocss] Inc., according to The Dallas Business Journal.
Century Bank mirrored the retail c-store strategy, said the report, selecting high-traffic locations around the Metroplex and staying open seven days a week.
The acquisition requires approval of regulators and Century Bancshares shareholders; it is expected to be completed by the end of this year, the financial services companies said in a statement.
Closely held and based in Dallas, Century Bancshares has $1.4 billion in assets, $1.3 billion in deposits, $1.2 billion in loans, 32 banking locations and 485 employees. It has 28 Century Bank locations in nine Texas communities and four in Arkansas.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. is a diversified financial services company with $609 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through almost 6,000 stores and the Internet across North America and internationally.
Truman Arnold Cos., based in Texarkana, Texas, reintroduced the Road Runner name in 2003. It still operates two locations and is planning to expand, the company said on its website.
The connection between retail banking and convenience retailing is not unique. Click the Download Now button below to view CSP magazine's February 2007 cover story on Commerce Bancorp.
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