“Morgan Stanley can finish buying out Citigroup from their retail brokerage joint venture after receiving permission from regulators to acquire the remaining 35 per cent.
“The deal, due to finalise on June 28, will complete an important phase of chief executive James Gorman’s plan to shift Morgan Stanley away from risky trading towards wealth management.
“It will hit earnings in the short term but finishing the deal should eventually free up capital to be returned to shareholders.
“Morgan Stanley said on Friday that it would pay $4.7bn, previously agreed, for the remaining stake, which would cause a $200m charge against capital in the next quarter to reflect a difference between the price and the book value of the asset. Earnings for the second quarter, due to be reported next month, would be affected, Morgan Stanley said.”
***
Read full Financial Times article here