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SAN FRANCISCO--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) and EverKey Global Partners (EverKey) announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement for Wells Fargo to acquire EverKey, an investment boutique that offers global equity strategies to institutional clients.

"With their support, we look forward to continuing to invest in line with our core investment philosophy and research investment opportunities across the globe on behalf of our clients in our global equity strategies."

EverKey Global Partners was established in December 2007 by Jeff Everett, formerly president and chief investment officer of Templeton Global Advisors Limited. In this role, Mr. Everett had responsibility for all portfolio management activities for all funds within the Templeton Global Equity Group, encompassing 35 portfolio managers and analysts. He served as lead portfolio manager of the $10 billion Templeton World Fund from 1995 to 2007, in addition to several other funds and accounts totaling approximately $35 billion in assets under management. The 11-member EverKey team has offices in the Bahamas and New York and manages global equity strategies for institutional clients in Japan and North America.

The Investment team at EverKey will become part of Wells Capital Management (WellsCap), the wholly owned institutional asset management subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and part of Wells Fargoas Asset Management Group. In line with WellsCapas multi-boutique asset management model, the EverKey team will remain an independent investment team with no change to its structure, investment philosophy, or location; all day-to-day management will reside with the current team. The transaction is expected to close by January 1, 2012.

aWe are thrilled to partner with a firm that has the breadth of distribution, global infrastructure, and the commitment to excellence in investment and risk management of Wells Capital Management,a said Jeff Everett, founder and lead portfolio manager of EverKey Global Partners. aWith their support, we look forward to continuing to invest in line with our core investment philosophy and research investment opportunities across the globe on behalf of our clients in our global equity strategies.a

aWe remain focused on broadening our investment capabilities to meet the needs of our clients,a said Mike Niedermeyer, executive vice president of Wells Fargo and chief executive officer of Wells Fargoas Asset Management Group. aThe addition of EverKey further enhances WellsCapas global equity capabilities and reflects an ongoing commitment to our multi-boutique business model. We believe that by continuously building and refining a deep bench of independent investment teamsa"each with specialized investment capabilities and autonomy over their research and investment decision-making processesa"we are uniquely positioned to meet client needs and deliver value to investors.a

About Wells Fargo Asset Management Group

With more than $449 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2011, the Asset Management Group is composed of Wells Capital Management, Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (advisor to the Wells Fargo Advantage Funds), and several other boutique investment managers, including European Credit Management, Ltd., stable-value manager Galliard Capital Management, Inc., and quantitative manager Golden Capital Management, LLC.

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 more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in America. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 23 on Fortuneas 2011 rankings of Americaas largest corporations. Wells Fargoas vision is to satisfy all our customersa financial needs and help them succeed financially.