(St. Louis Public Radio) – Another major St. Louis-based company is being sold. Scottrade has announced a $4 billion deal to be acquired by TD Ameritrade. The financial services company has been based in St. Louis since 1981.
The deal means the Scottrade name is going away. The company will operate under the TD Ameritrade banner once the acquisition closes next year, pending regulatory approval.
Scottrade was founded in Arizona in 1980 and moved to St. Louis roughly one year later.
TD Ameritrade officials say they plan to operate a “sizable call center” while keeping a mix of client and support positions in St. Louis. The company will keep naming rights to Scottrade Center, but the arena will be re-branded TD Ameritrade Center.
In a note to clients, posted on Scottrade’s website, Chief Executive Officer Roger Riney says it will be business as usual for the time being.
“It will take 9-12 months for the transactions to close and until then, we will be operating as separate and independent companies.”
The deal is expected to close by the end of next September.
There are two major steps in the acquisition. First, TD Bank will buy Scottrade Bank. Once that closes, TD Ameritrade will complete the deal for Scottrade Financial. Regulators still have to sign off on the acquisition.
TD Ameritrade says it is “fair to assume job losses” in the transaction, but it will remain a major employer in the St. Louis region. It plans to be involved in the community through volunteerism and employer matching programs. Like Scottrade, TD Ameritrade takes part in the United Way’s Day of Caring.
St. Louis will lose hundreds of jobs in the deal. Scottrade has roughly 1,800 workers in the region. TD Ameritrade officials say they plan to have 500 to 1,000 employees in the area once the acquisition is complete. Any worker who loses a job in St. Louis will have the chance to move elsewhere within the company, which has about 300 open positions at any given time.
In an email to St. Louis Public Radio, the company adds that any employees who do not stay with TD Ameritrade will be “treated very fairly and generously.”
The announcement comes weeks after German company Bayer confirmed plans to acquire St. Louis-based Monsanto. That is a $66 billion deal, which also needs regulatory approval.
Bayer says it plans to maintain a major presence in St. Louis, by making it the headquarters for the seeds and North American commercial operations.
Republished with permission of St. Louis Public Radio: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/scottrade-be-sold-td-ameritrade-4-billion-deal