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]
Kids, this is a classic example of the agency problem: managers pursuing self-interested objectives at the expense of shareholders.
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Triumph the Insult Comic Dog: “How can something so tiny and precious...”
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