Wells Fargo & Company To Acquire Fund Financing Portfolio From WestLB

Wells Fargo & Company announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire WestLB’s subscription finance portfolio. The portfolio contains approximately $6 billion in commitments (approximately $3 billion outstanding). Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Subscription finance provides committed revolving and term loans as well as letters of credit mainly to private equity and real estate investment funds to facilitate the funds’ investment activities. The financing is secured by the uncalled capital commitments from the funds’ institutional investors. Dee Dee Sklar, former head of WestLB’s subscription finance group, has been hired to run Wells Fargo’s subscription finance business and will report to DuBose. Sklar will lead a team of 14, including 8 former WestLB employees. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of 2012.