Deals
Morgan Stanley Ignites Banking Takeover Buzz With Gorman’s Deal
- After surprise deal, he predicts rivals to do more ‘bolt-ons’
- Banks need scale, which means acquisitions, consultant says
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It was hard for James Gorman to contain his exuberance.
The chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley had just ended a decade-long drought of major takeovers by top U.S. banks with his surprise deal to buy E*Trade Financial Corp. for $13 billion. Across the industry, where it’s long been taboo to get “too big,” speculation was erupting that conditions had finally lined up for a wave of similarly hefty acquisitions.