Prudential sells stake back to Wachovia

Prudential Financial Inc. plans to sell its end of a joint stake in Wachovia Securities Financial Holdings LLC of St. Louis to Wachovia Corp.

Prudential Financial Inc. plans to sell its end of a joint stake in Wachovia Securities Financial Holdings LLC of St. Louis to Wachovia Corp.
Newark, N.J.-based Prudential announced it would sell its stake in the brokerage firm — worth about $5 billion before taxes — back to Wachovia Corp. of Charlotte, N.C. on or around Jan. 1, 2010, exercising a “lookback” option it had after Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia bought A.G. Edwards Inc. of St Louis and added its business to the joint venture.
The insurer announced the sale in a filing today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Originally, Prudential held a 38% stake in the venture, while the remaining 62% belonged to Wachovia.
Additionally, the insurer today announced that it has applied to the Department of the Treasury’s $250 billion Capital Purchase Program.
Prudential Financial, the parent company, may qualify for up to $1.3 billion, while Prudential Insurance Co. of America’s commercial paper program may qualify for up to $9.8 billion in federal facilities.
The application wasn’t prompted by a need for liquidity, but the insurer told investors on a conference call today that it would deploy whatever capital it may receive, according to published reports.
No decision has been made yet on whether the company will be accepted into the program.