Wells Fargo Acquiring Benson Associates

August 27, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Wells Fargo & Company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire institutional money manager Benson Associates LLC.

Wells Fargo said Benson, which currently has $1.3 billion in equity assets under management, would become a distinct investment team within its Wells Capital Management Inc. division.   Currently the division oversees more than $120 billion of assets for institutional investors and Wells Fargo funds, according to a news release.

The purchase of the Portland, Oregon-based company is expected to increase Wells Fargo’s presence in small-cap value investing.   “This acquisition brings a more value-added, disciplined investment capability to the broad range of services that our clients can access,” said Mike Niedermeyer, executive vice president of Wells Fargo’s Institutional Investments Group. “By integrating Benson’s strong investment team into Wells Capital Management we will broaden our expertise in small-cap value management.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.   The acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2003.

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