aw the purchase as an opportunity to finally gain a competitive position in the personal in- vestment market. In particular, the acquisition would give AssetOne valuable talent in online banking and investment fund businesses. Negotiations between AssetOne and Taurus- Bank occurred secretly, except for communica- tion with government regulatory agencies, and took several months as AssetOne's executive team deliberated over the purchase. When Asset- One finally decided in favor of the acquisition. employees of both companies were notified only a few minutes before the merger was an nounced publicly. During the public statement AssetOne's CEO boldly announced that Taurus. Bank would become a seamless extension of Asset one." He explained that like AssetOne