Patriot Ledger – After searching in the last two years for another major acquisition, State Street Corp. CEO Ron Logue finally found what he was seeking just a mile from his office.
State Street unveiled plans yesterday to buy Boston-based Investors Financial Services Corp., the parent of Investors Bank & Trust, in a $4.5 billion stock deal. The price represents a 38 percent premium for Investors Financial shareholders based on the closing prices of both companies’ shares last Friday.
State Street outbid rivals to seal a deal that would make the Boston company the top provider of services to hedge funds in the world, give it an important foothold in providing services for private equity funds and potentially put it back in the No. 2 spot among all asset services companies.
Some investors found the price too high, sending State Street’s shares down by about 6.5 percent yesterday to $67.08 a share.
‘‘The company had to pay ‘Tiffany prices’ for this merchandise, partly …due to the auction process that Investors Financial put themselves in,’’ said Gerard Cassidy, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
