In an all-stock deal, Fifth Third Bancorp is linking up two major regional banks by purchasing Comerica for $10.9 billion.
With assets of about $288 billion, the buyout will make the bank the ninth largest in the United States, the firms announced on Monday.
The merged business will significantly strengthen Fifth Third’s presence in the Midwest and operate in the Southeast, Texas, and California. By 2030, more than half of Fifth Third’s locations are expected to be in California, Texas, Arizona, and the Southeast.
In a statement, Fifth Third Bank Chairman and CEO Tim Spence said, “This combination represents a pivotal moment for Fifth Third as we accelerate our strategy to build density in high-growth markets and deepen our commercial capabilities.”
“This is a perfect fit because of Comerica’s strong middle market franchise and complementary footprint.”
For every share they possess, investors in Comerica will receive 1.8663 Fifth Third shares. This amounts to $82.88 per share as of Friday’s closing price of Fifth Third’s stock.
About 27% of the combined business would be owned by Comerica shareholders, and roughly 73% will be owned by Fifth Third shareholders.
The regional bank industry has recently seen some consolidation.
PNC Financial said a month ago that it would pay $4.1 billion to acquire Colorado-based FirstBank, giving PNC a significant presence in both the Arizona and Colorado banking markets.
With the acquisition of FirstBank, PNC would have more than 70 branches in Arizona and become the biggest bank in the Denver market. Additionally, PNC’s assets will increase to about $575 billion.
Usually referred to as a super-regional bank, PNC is a collection of sizable national banks with hundreds of billions of dollars in assets and hundreds of branches.
However, the banking behemoths Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase are much larger than the super-regionals, possessing scale and size that the super-regionals cannot match.
After the transaction is finalized, three Comerica board members will join the Cincinnati-based Fifth Third board.
Peter Sefzik, Comerica’s top banking officer, will lead Fifth Third’s wealth and asset management division, while Dallas-based Chairman and CEO Curt Farmer will serve as Vice Chair.
The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2026. Both firms’ shareholders still need to approve it.
Fifth Third’s stock fell 2% before Monday’s opening bell, while Comerica’s stock increased 11%.
