Seeking to avoid the kind fate that led Lehman and Bear Stearns to collapse, John J. Mack, Morgan Stanley’s chief executive, made an unsuccessful attempt Tuesday evening to convince Citigroup chief executive Vikram S. Pandit to enter into a combination, according to people briefed on the talks.
“We need a merger partner or we’re not going to make it,” Mr. Mack told Mr. Pandit, according to two people briefed on the talks. Mr. Pandit, a former senior investment banker at Morgan Stanley, said Citigroup was not interested. [Citi] is thinking of deals it can strike with consumer banks, like buying Washington Mutual out of bankruptcy, that would provide it with cheaper deposit funding
I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how this quote gets into NYT. Pandit could not have told that many people, and one of them leaks to NYT, on something that will put more downward pressure on MS in the morning. Sounds like someone wants to put MS out of its misery.
-Robert Wenzel
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