MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 2, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN) announced today that on March 1, 2006, it closed on the sale of its national merchant processing business, First Horizon Merchant Services (FHMS), to NOVA Information Systems (NOVA), a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB).
FHN also announced today that it entered into an agreement with Goldman Sachs on March 1, 2006, to purchase 4 million shares of FHN common stock in connection with an accelerated share repurchase program under an existing share repurchase authorization. The initial purchase price of the shares will be $39.43 per share or approximately $158 million excluding transaction costs. The share repurchase is being funded with a portion of the proceeds from the merchant processing sale and will settle on March 3, 2006. The repurchased shares are subject to a purchase price adjustment that will be based upon the actual volume weighted average price during the repurchase period and certain other provisions. The final settlement is expected to occur in the second quarter.
About First Horizon Merchant Services
First Horizon Merchant Services is part of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN). FHMS, a provider of processing services for all major cards as well as most regional and national debit and Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, is one of the most prominent processors of credit card payments for the travel and entertainment industry. FHMS is also a leading provider of transaction processing and bankcard acquiring services and provides the capability for check verification and check guarantee.
About First Horizon National Corp.
The 13,000 employees of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN) provide financial services to individuals and business customers through hundreds of offices located in more than 40 states. The corporation's three major brands -- FTN Financial, First Horizon and First Tennessee -- provide customers with a broad range of products and services including:
-- Capital markets, one of the nation's top underwriters of U.S.
government agency securities
-- Mortgage banking, one of the nation's top 20 mortgage originators
and top 15 servicers, which earned a top-10 ranking in customer
satisfaction from J.D. Power and Associates
-- Retail/commercial banking, with the largest market share in
Tennessee and one of the highest customer retention rates of any
bank in the country
FHN companies have been recognized as some of the nation's best employers by AARP, Working Mother and Fortune magazines. FHN also was named one of the nation's 100 best corporate citizens by Business Ethics magazine. More information can be found at www.fhnc.com.
About NOVA
NOVA Information Systems, a leader in the payment processing industry, is a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB). Combined, NOVA and its affiliates euroConex and Elan, provide global merchant processing services to financial institutions and customers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. NOVA offers integrated payment processing services to more than 800,000 merchants. For more information visit www.novainfo.com.