It is no secret that Bharat Masrani, CEO of Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD) , has long wished for his institution to acquire a bank in the southeastern U.S. It looks like Masrani could get his wish: TD Bank recently announced its intention to buy First Horizon (NYSE: FHN) for $13.4 billion in cash, its largest acquisition ever.
First Horizon's $89 billion of assets would catapult TD Bank's U.S. franchise to roughly $614 billion in assets, making it the sixth-largest bank in the U.S.
While Toronto-Dominion Bank certainly paid up to get First Horizon, the deal looks like it could greatly help expand the already-attractive TD Bank franchise into some fast-growing markets. But before the bank can reap any of the benefits, it has some considerable hurdles to clear.
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Here's What It Will Take to Make TD Bank's Purchase of First Horizon a Winning Move