Wells Fargo Securities Hires Two New M&A Industry Leaders

Wells Fargo Securities, part of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), today announced that it has hired two new managing directors to head industry areas within its growing Mergers & Acquisitions group. Adam Berger has joined as head of Healthcare M&A and Bora Sila has joined as head of Consumer and Retail M&A. Both bankers are based in New York and report to John Laughlin, head of Mergers & Acquisitions at Wells Fargo Securities.

"We are delighted to have bankers of Adam’s and Bora’s caliber heading up our efforts in healthcare and consumer and retail,” said Laughlin. "As we continue to strategically expand our capabilities and add depth to our team, their extensive relationships and industry knowledge will greatly enhance our ability to help our customers succeed financially in these critical sectors.”

Having successfully led M&A teams at both large and small investment banks, Berger and Sila understand how to leverage the strengths of a universal bank while providing world-class client service. "Our ability to attract top talent like Adam and Bora is a testament to our continued growth in M&A advisory and Wells Fargo’s commitment to building its position as a leader in investment banking,” added Laughlin.

In his more than 22 years as an M&A banker, Berger has worked on 140 announced transactions worth nearly $400 billion. He joined Wells Fargo from Leerink Swann, a healthcare-focused investment banking firm, where he was head of M&A from 2008 to 2011. Prior to that, he was head of Healthcare M&A at Citigroup and, prior to that, a managing director at Salomon Brothers. He holds a B.S. in Finance and Economics from The Wharton School as well as a B.A. in History from the University of Pennsylvania.

Sila has more than 20 years of experience in Consumer and Retail M&A. He joined Wells Fargo from UBS, where he was head of Americas Retail Investment Banking from 2009 to 2011. Prior to that, he was at Citigroup and its predecessor companies for 19 years where he held several senior positions, including the lead M&A partner for Consumer and Retail sectors. He began his investment banking career at Goldman Sachs and holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.3 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com and wachovia.com), and other distribution channels across North America and internationally. With approximately 275,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in America. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 23 on Fortune’s 2011 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.

About Wells Fargo Securities

Wells Fargo Securities delivers a comprehensive set of capital markets products and services to customers, including originating and distributing public debt and equity, hedging interest rates, commodity and equity risks, advising on mergers and acquisitions, and originating structured lending facilities and municipal bonds. The institutional capital markets business is comprised of more than 3400 team members in 40+ offices across the United States, Europe and Asia.

Wells Fargo Securities is the trade name for certain capital markets and investment banking services of Wells Fargo & Company and its subsidiaries, including Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, member FINRA and SIPC, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, Wells Fargo Securities International Limited (authorized by the U.K. FSA), Wells Fargo Securities Asia Limited (licensed by the HK SFC), and Wells Fargo Securities (Japan) Co., Ltd. (registered with the KLFB).