THE MAN WITH A TASTE FOR ALBATROSS
Cool Carl Reichardt. Before final papers are delivered on the Wells Fargo chairman's record $1.07 billion purchase of Crocker National Corporation, he's already wondering what next to buy.
But for Reichardt, it's nothing to do with the scramble to get on board the deregulation wagon. His plans are to stay at home, tending his own Californian back yard while cleansing the new amalgam of almost all foreign involvement.
"California is the seventh largest economy in the world and should be the fifth largest by the turn of the century," Reichardt told Euromoney in his first major interview since the announcement of the takeover. "There's growth to be had overseas, particularly in Asia, but California excites us more. It's just a lot easier to do business when you don't have political risks and cross-border problems.
"We want to expand some more, particularly in southern California," he continued. "We've talked to some others and will talk to them in the future. Our stock price makes this a lot easier today than a year ago."
Wells Fargo shares, selling at around book value of $62 before the announcement of the Crocker purchase from Britain's Midland Bank -- the largest-ever US commercial bank acquisition -- shot up and were trading recently at about $87, an increase of more than 40%.