Wells Fargo (WFC) is buying Greater Bay Bancorp (GBBC) unless someone else has a better offer. How did a hedge fund or private equity genius miss that deal or let it happen?

At first glance, it looks like a big bank buying a smaller bank to have a better or bigger presence in a market they already almost completely dominate. If you left it at that you would think that this HeadClerk person should just take a nap.

Greater Bay does have an insurance company, ABD Insurance and Financial Services (ABD), which focuses mainly on commercial insurance; interest still not piqued? Greater Bay also has Matsco and a Treasury division and lots of fun little pieces. The Matsco division is a or the main lender for dentists and veterinarians, target clients for groups like Merrill Lynch or Morgan Stanley which might like to lend their retail investing clients money as well as handle their investments.

Why doesn't Lehman Brothers, or some other big investment bank, make a better offer for Greater Bay (GBBC), break out the divisions into separate groups like Community Banking, Commercial Lending (Matsco et al.), Commercial Insurance, and Real Estate Lending and sell the pieces separately? They could then sell the Community Banking group to Wells Fargo or some other non-California bank that wants branches in the West? They could sell the lending group to someone like ABN Amro or someone else, and the Insurance group to AIG or that type of company. It just seems that a Northern California bank that has a more than 72% of it's non-real estate lending clients outside of California should be opened up to more players than the stage coach and company.

I don't own Greater Bay stock in case you are wondering, but mutual funds I own might own Wells Fargo or other companies mentioned herein so see Rule 1 of my blog.