Charles Schwab Corp. said Monday it agreed to buy TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. for $26 billion in stock, and planned to relocate its headquarters to the company’s new Westlake campus from San Francisco.
The integration of Schwab and Ameritrade is expected to take 18-36 months, following close of the transaction, Schwab and Ameritrade said. Schwab said it named Joe Martinetto, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer, to oversee the integration.
“As part of the integration process, the corporate headquarters of the combined company will eventually relocate to Schwab’s new campus in Westlake, Texas,” Schwab and Ameritrade said. “Both companies have a sizable presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This will allow the combined firm to take advantage of the central location of the new Schwab campus to serve as the hub of a network of Schwab branches and operations centers that span the entire U.S., and beyond. Any additional real estate decisions will be made over time as part of the integration process.”
Schwab did not say how many people it expected to have at the Westlake Center. It opened its Westlake service center in July 2016 in a leased office building. The first phase of Schwab’s newly built campus includes 500,000 square feet on 70 acres. The planned second phase of the campus, under plans revealed before the Ameritrade announcement, would take the campus up to 1.375 million square feet, with room for more than 6,000 employees. Plans called for four office buildings, an amenities building with café, meeting space, training center, and two parking garages.
Schwab and Ameritrade, based in Omaha, Neb., said in a web FAQ that they expected job reductions from the combination of the two companies.
“Will jobs be eliminated as part of the integration?” one of the questions in the FAQ reads.
The answer: “Yes. Reductions in staff are a necessary part of achieving overall expense synergies. The majority of positions that will be eliminated will be determined based on overlapping and duplicative roles. Details on how these decisions will be reached will be shared at a later date, once the integration process has begun.
Schwab, founded in San Francisco, said its long commitment to the Bay Area “will continue. A small percentage of roles may move from San Francisco to Westlake over time, either through relocation or attrition. The vast majority of San Francisco-based roles, however, are not anticipated to be impacted by this decision. Schwab expects to continue hiring in San Francisco and retain a sizable corporate footprint in the city.”
