Speculation rose about potential suitors, as National City's fortunes plummeted due to mortgage losses, in recent weeks.
Other banks, such as Key Corp and Fifth Third came in and out of the conversation.
Given the current banking climate, University of Akron Business Dean Raj Aggarwal doubts the deal could have been much better.
Raj Aggarwal: Evidently, there weren't too many other deals where people were breaking down the doors of National City to do other deals, like buy the company or anything like that. That's the job of the board of directors --- that's their fiduciary responsibility --- to make the best deal possible for the existing stockholders.
New York-based Corsair Capital broke the ice with its offer of nearly one billion dollars. Aggarwal says that after that vote of confidence, the remaining investors came in quickly.
Coincidentally, on the same day that National City made its announcement, Fortune Magazine announced its annual ranking of the country's top 500 companies. National City remained among the top 11 in Ohio, dropping from third to fifth.
