Morgan Stanley is to acquire E*TRADE for US$13 billion ($19.6 billion) to boost its presence in the wealth management space by bringing over $360 billion in retail client assets.
US firm E*TRADE was an electronic trading platform to trade assets such as stocks, ETFs, options and fixed income with over 5.2 million clients.
The all-stock trade would see E*TRADE shareholders receive 1.0432 Morgan Stanley shares for each E*TRADE share.
E*TRADE’s $360 billion in retail client assets would be added to Morgan Stanley’s $2.7 trillion in assets.
Mike Pizzi, chief executive of E*TRADE would join Morgan Stanley and continue his role from within the brand, reporting to Morgan Stanley chief executive and chairman James Gorman. He would also join the Morgan Stanley operating and management committees.
He said: “By joining Morgan Stanley, we will be able to take our combined offering to the next level and deliver an even more comprehensive suite of wealth management capabilities. Bringing E*TRADE’s brand and offerings under the Morgan Stanley umbrella creates a truly exciting wealth management value proposition and enables our collective team to serve a far wider spectrum of clients.”
Gorman added: “E*TRADE represents an extraordinary growth opportunity for our Wealth Management business and a leap forward in our Wealth Management strategy. E*TRADE’s products, innovation in technology, and established brand will help position Morgan Stanley as a top player across all three channels: Financial Advisory, Self-Directed, and Workplace.”
The deal was expected to close in Q4 2020 subject to regulatory approval.
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