Stan Puts One Over on Mack with BlackRock Deal
In yet another defeat for Morgan Stanley, the firm’s inability to get a deal done with publicly-traded asset manager BlackRock is looking all the more embarrassing as news of the Merrill Lynch’s success got out this morning. According to The Times, egos and self-interest may have been the spoilers at Morgan Stanley, with Zoe Cruz fearing that BlockRock chief Laurence Fink could trump her to succeed Mack. Meanwhile, a close personal relationship between Merrill’s Greg Fleming (who took BlackRock public in 1999) and the security of Stan O’Neal’s reign greased the wheels in the sale of Merrill’s asset management business. That, and a recognition that The Bull wasn’t exactly kicking ass in this arena.
Merrill and BlackRock Near Deal [NY Times]
Morgan Pursuing Other Asset Managers [Reuters]
Grasping at Stability at Morgan Stanley
The Blackrock deal is dead, reports The Journal. After months of flirtation with the investment firm, Morgan Stanley’s John Mack decided to pass on a deal that would have traded its own asset management unit for a stake in BlackRock, which is 70% owned by PNC Financial Services. Instead, Mack is shoring up his own internal team, removing the word “acting” from president Zoe Cruz’s title while naming veteral banker Robert Scully as co-President. Once James Gorman comes on board next week from Merrill, Mack’s inner circle will be complete. The move was descirbed by an industry analyst as “the lowest risk, safest route to resolving the leadership issue and keeping options open for the future.”
Morgan’s Mack Takes Safe Route [Wall Street Journal]
“Take It Slow, Joe”: That’s What She Said
The Journal reveals some more details about the plans of star banker Joseph Perella to launch his own firm. As reported last week, Perella and partner Terry Meguid have been luring talent away from Morgan Stanley recently. But don’t expect to see any action from the as-yet-unnamed firm just yet. Perella, who’s said he plans to have about 100 investment professionals working for him, is following the advice of Blackstone’s Pete Peterson to take it slow. And that’s just what he’s doing: May 1 is current targeted start date.
A Wall Street Star Goes Small--Again [Wall Street Journal]
Wilbur Ross: Turnaround Artist or Man About Town?
Billionaire turnaround investor Wilbur Ross is 69, grew up in Weehawken, NJ and recently married a socialite 15 years his junior, according to the NY Social Diary. Subsequently, Ross, who ranked 278th in the Forbes 400 list in 2004, saw his social life take off:
The latest Ross marriage, like his business career, marked a crest of the wave in the life of this man whose public profile theretofore had been quiet and low-key. Hilary Geary Ross almost immediately brought a glamour to her man’s life. They acquired a big house in Palm Beach. She sold her apartment at the posh 580 Park Avenue and moved to his newly redecorated (by Mario Buatta, and photographed – cover also – for Architectural Digest) digs in the Sherry Netherland overlooking Central Park and celebrated with several cocktail parties entertaining hundreds of their friends. (They retain the estate in Southampton that she inherited from her first husband.) They appeared on the cover of Avenue magazine (Hilary also writes a monthly social column for Quest).
Comment: Sounds like Old Wilbur may be taking his eye off the ball!
Wilbur Ross Close-Up [NY Social Diary]
