After a day of dueling lawsuits yesterday (Monday), all parties agreed to halt litigation for two days as Citigroup Inc. (C) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) continued to squabble over rights to purchase Wachovia Corp. (WB).

After a day of dueling lawsuits yesterday (Monday), all parties agreed to halt litigation for two days as Citigroup Inc. (C) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) continued to squabble over rights to purchase Wachovia Corp. (WB). The three banks jointly pledged to “cooperate in good faith to agree among themselves to secure orders where necessary in all applicable cases in all jurisdictions,” according to a statement from Wachovia. The agreement was reached after consultations with the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bloomberg News reported. The “litigation standstill” will be in effect until noon EDT tomorrow (Wednesday). Earlier in the day, Citigroup had filed suit against Wells Fargo and Wachovia for $60 billion in damages for breaching the exclusive negotiation period Wachovia had agreed to as part of Citigroup’s original offer for Wachovia’s retail banking operations. It was the culmination of a ...

The battle for battered bank Wachovia Corp. (WB) is heating up with Citigroup Inc.’s (C) win of a court order to extend negotiations, while Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) contends its merger agreement still stands. Late Saturday evening, Citi won a court order from New York State Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos granting an injunction to extend the exclusive negotiation period between Citigroup and Wachovia. The original agreement between Citi and Wachovia, reached with assistance and backing from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) did not include a signed merger agreement. However, it did grant Citi exclusive rights to negotiate with Wachovia through today (Monday). Wells Fargo’s agreement with Wachovia was announced on Friday, well before the exclusive negotiation clause’s deadline. Despite this breach and the finding by the court, Wells Fargo remains confident in its agreement. "Wells Fargo ...

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) Friday agreed to buy all of Wachovia Corp. (WB) for about $15 billion in stock, however, Citigroup Inc. (C), which had already agreed to buy Wachovia’s banking operations, immediately issued a protest that could jeopardize the deal. “Citi has substantial legal rights regarding Wachovia and this transaction,” Citi said in a statement. “Wachovia’s agreement to a transaction with Wells Fargo is in clear breach of an exclusivity agreement between Citi and Wachovia.” Wells Fargo’s $15 billion, or $7 a share, all-in bid easily trumps Citigroup’s $2.16 billion, or $1 per share, offer for Wachovia’s deposits, loan portfolio, and retail banking branches. The Citigroup offer did not include Wachovia’s A.G. Edwards brokerage unit or Evergreen mutual fund family. “It provides superior value compared to the previous offer to acquire ...