Regions to Acquire AmSouth

Regions Financial(RF Quote) agreed to acquire fellow Birmingham, Ala., bank AmSouth(ASO Quote) for $9.8 billion in stock.

The deal, which was first reported late Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal, will unite two midsized southern financial groups and create the 10th largest bank in the U.S., with $140 billion in assets and more than $100 billion in deposits. The combined institution will have a major presence in seven southern states.

Terms of the acquisition call for Regions, with a market capitalization of about $16.2 billion, to exchange $28.33 worth of stock for each AmSouth share. AmSouth closed Wednesday at $28.90; its market capitalization was $10 billion. ...