New Benefits Firm Formed From Acquisitions

May 7, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - BB&T Corporation has announced plans to form a new benefits and investment services firm by combining a company it acquired in 1998 with a Greenville, South Carolina benefits and investment organization it now plans to purchase.

BB&T says it will combine Hunt, DuPree, Rhine & Associates of Greenville, South Carolina with W.E. Stanley & Co., a Greensboro, North Carolina benefits consultant which BB&T picked up four years ago. 

Hunt, Dupree had been a wholly owned-subsidiary of Wachovia Corporation for the past several years, as part of the southeast regional bank’s efforts to broaden its plan service offerings, notably in the area of Section 125 cafeteria plan administration/processing.  
 
The Hunt, DuPree deal is expected to be completed next month. Terms were not disclosed.

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The new firm, Stanley, Hunt, Dupree & Rhine Inc., will operate out of dual headquarters in Greensboro and Greenville with 200 employees. The BB&T announcement said the new firm would offer group medical plans, insurance and investment consulting including 401(k) plans, actuarial services and benefit communications.

W.E. Stanley president Phillip Floyd will be named chief executive officer of the combined company while Hunt, Dupree president Chip Hunt will serve as president.

The new company’s key markets will include major metropolitan areas in the Carolinas, Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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