ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, June 19, 1996 TAG: 9606190059
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: IN BUSINESS
First Union Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., has agreed to acquire thrifts in Connecticut and Florida. Both deals are expected to close in the fourth quarter, and First Union said it will buy shares for both transactions on the open market.
In Connecticut, First Union will buy Center Financial Corp., Waterbury holding company for Centerbank, a state-chartered savings bank with 46 offices and assets of $3.7 billion. The deal is valued at $379 million.
In the Florida transaction, First Union will acquire Home Financial Corp. and its principal subsidiary, Home Savings Bank, a federal savings bank based in Hollywood. It operates eight offices in Broward, Dade and Highlands counties and has assets of $1.2 billion. The deal is valued at $336 million.
The agreements must be approved by regulators and shareholders of the two savings banks.
In related news, the board of First Union Corp. voted Tuesday for a 12 percent boost in its quarterly dividend, the 19th consecutive annual increase.
The dividend will jump from 52 to 58 cents a share. On an annualized basis, the increase is from $2.08 to $2.32 a share.
The dividend is payable Sept. 16 to stockholders of record Aug. 30. - Staff report Freight at top point in 9 months
Rail freight traffic reached its highest levels since October during the week ending June 6, indicating the economic doldrums of the first quarter are now passed, said Harvey A. Levine, chief economist for the Association of American Railroads.
Carload freight - including strong loadings of coal, motor vehicles and lumber - totaled 363,986 cars and was 5.2 percent ahead of the same period last year. Loadings were up 6.3 percent in the West and 4 percent in the East.
Intermodal freight, or containers and trailers that move by a combination of rail and other carriers, amounted to 159,153, up 3.4 percent from last year.
Total freight volume was estimated at 25.5 billion ton-miles. - Staff report
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