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Morgan Stanley has held Wachovia talks: source

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-18 09:11

NEW YORK -- Morgan Stanley, which saw its stock pummeled Wednesday on worries it may not survive the credit crunch, has held preliminary takeover talks with Wachovia Corp, a person familiar with the situation said.

The headquarters of investment bank Morgan Stanley is seen in New York City, September 17, 2008. Morgan Stanley is weighing whether it should remain independent or merge with a bank, given the recent turbulence in the company's share price. Shares of Morgan Stanley fell 16 percent in early trading even after it reported better-than-expected earnings on Tuesday. [Agencies]

Separately, CNBC reported that Morgan Stanley was having deal discussions with CITIC, the China-controlled conglomerate that owns brokerage firm CITIC Securities. Morgan executives could not be reached immediately for comment on these talks.

These moves come as Morgan Stanley Chief Executive John Mack takes steps to ensure his firm remains one of the survivors of the ongoing credit crisis.

Mack received a call on Wednesday from Wachovia, the fourth-largest US bank, expressing interest in a deal with the second-largest Wall Street firm, the source said.

No deal with Wachovia is imminent and the talks can still fall apart. But as recent days showed, a number of surprising deals have come together quickly as banks and brokers scramble to do whatever it takes to survive the ongoing credit crisis.

Morgan Stanley is considering other options, the source said. Other banks also have expressed interest in a deal, according to media reports late Wednesday.

Both Wachovia and Morgan Stanley declined to comment on whether it was having takeover talks.

Morgan Stanley said it was doing everything it could to help its stock price. "The smartest people at this firm are focused on solutions," a company spokeswoman said.

If a deal with Wachovia did go through, Morgan Stanley would be the fourth major investment bank to disappear from the scene since June as the year-old credit crisis builds momentum. In the past four days, the US financial services industry has been through the biggest consolidation wave in a decade.

A deal would marry a company with a dominant investment bank and trading business with Wachovia, the No. 4 US commercial bank with branches spanning 21 states. It would also create the largest retail brokerage force in the country with more than 20,000 advisers.

Many analysts and investors have questioned the wisdom of combining two banks that have been burned by the spreading credit crisis that began with plunging mortgage prices and spread to commercial real estate.

"Two wrongs don't make a right," said James Ellman, a fund manager and president of SeaCliff Capital in San Francisco. "Hasn't Mr. Market been saying both companies possibly are going to fail? If you put them together, how does that make a better company?"

Morgan Stanley reported stronger-than-expected results as well as a robust levels of cash and capital on Tuesday, its latest solid performance since suffering about $10 billion in mortgage trading losses late last year.

Yet its stock dropped sharply Wednesday, suffering its worst one-day decline ever and falling to a 10-year low during the session. Worse still, its credit default swaps traded as if it were in imminent danger of default.

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