Charles Schwab Corp. is set to make Dallas-Fort Worth home after its massive acquisition of TD Ameritrade closes.
The corporate headquarters of the combined company will eventually relocate to Schwab’s new campus in Westlake, northwest of Dallas. Schwab, which is based in San Francisco, said Monday it is acquiring TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: AMTD) in a deal valued at about $26 billion.
“Both companies have a sizable presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,” the release said. “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.”
The process to combine the companies will take between 18 and 36 months after the close of the deal, the statement said.
Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) said it’s not saying goodbye to California though.
“Schwab was founded in San Francisco and has maintained a longstanding commitment to the Bay Area, which will continue,” the statement said. “A small percentage of roles may move from San Francisco to Westlake over time, either through relocation or attrition.”
The “vast majority” of Bay Area-based roles are not anticipated to be affected by the move, it said. Schwab expects to retain a sizable corporate footprint in the city.
Schwab’s move would follow the exit of McKesson, a health-care supplies company, from San Francisco earlier this year. Other companies, such as Uber, have been expanding or relocating operations from California to North Texas in recent years.
The companies expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2020.
Schwab already has sizable operations in North Texas. As of November 2018, the company reported about 1,200 employees currently working in the Dallas area and 145 job openings in the region. A company representative told the Dallas Business Journal the approximately 1 million-square-foot Westlake campus, once completed, will be able to house up to 7,000 employees. The company has about 20,000 overall.
Earlier this year, Charles Schwab, chairman of the company, spoke with the San Francisco Business Times, sister publication to the Business Journal, about challenges for companies in the Bay Area as some seek corporate relocations.
“Look how congested we are here in San Francisco now,” Schwab said. “We certainly need infrastructure investments to make sure traffic moves well (and) people move well.”
When asked about staying in San Francisco, he said, “We’ll continue looking at that as a possibility as taxes go ... and the cost of doing business here are so much higher than some other (places), we’ll have to move there.”
This is a developing story and will continue to be updated throughout the day.