A.G. Edwards stockholders approve merger plan

ST. LOUIS -- A.G. Edwards, Inc. stockholders on Friday voted to approve a merger plan with Wachovia Corp. to form the second-largest retail brokerage firm in the nation.

The St. Louis-based financial services holding company said the transaction is expected to close around Oct. 1.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia, the nation's fourth-largest bank, said May 31 it would acquire A.G. Edwards for $6.8 billion in cash and stock to form the retail brokerage firm.

The combined brokerage unit will operate as Wachovia Securities and will have more than 3,300 brokerage locations nationwide, more than $1.1 trillion in client assets and nearly 15,000 financial advisers.

Other A.G. Edwards businesses, including research, underwriting, investment banking, mutual funds and trust, will be consolidated into Wachovia's existing operating lines.

The transaction makes Wachovia the second-largest American retail brokerage by number of brokers, after Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.