Wachovia Corp is in talks with potential buyers, all rivals, to be taken over following a fall of 27% in the U.S. bank’s shares on Friday. The sudden fall was due to concerns about its portfolio of poisonous or toxic mortgage assets.
Rumours today suggest Citigroup and Wells Fargo & Co are among the potential buyers in talks with Wachovia.
According to The New York Times the two main suitors are locked in a bidding war for a possible takeover of Wachovia, citing people involved in the talks.
The U.S. Federal Reserve and Treasury Department are also involved in the marathon talks according to the newspaper.
A treasury department spokesperson declined to comment on any specifics of the discussions regarding Wachovia but said “we are in regular contact with market participants.”
Wachovia was the sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets prior to this crisis.
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