Sources have told The New York Times that Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) CEO E. Stanley O'Neal has approached Wachovia (NYSE: WB) about the possibility of a merger. But here's where it gets really interesting. According to The Times:
Mr. O'Neal broached the possibility of a merger with Wachovia, the bank based in Charlotte, N.C., without first getting the approval of Merrill's board, a major breach of corporate protocol at a time when directors were already concerned about the company's performance, these people said.
At the risk of being overly judgmental, I have to say that, if true, this raises serious questions about Mr. O'Neal's intelligence. After you just reported a $7.9 billion dollar write-down, you would have to think you were on the hot seat, at least to some extent. And what better way to restore the board's confidence than to explore a merger behind its back?
The rumors about O'Neal's future should heat up now, with The Times also reporting that board has already discussed possible successors. But given this latest report, I wonder: Does O'Neal want to get fired?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-26-2007 @ 7:23AM
Suzanne said...
Wachovia is a FINE, customer friendly bank...Sure hope it stays away from Merrill, Lynch!
10-26-2007 @ 9:41AM
Bill said...
I am a modest customer of M/L and a share holder in Wachcovia. I agree withe the comment above. M/L is a company with way too much cost. They are expensive to do business with. They do have good people at the local level, but their culture is all wrong in their retail business. They should be very cost driven with modest surroundings. It is just the opposite. I guess they feel a top notch building or office communicates success. In my opinion it communicates just the opposite. A company that has no respect for cost and the high fees they charge me and other customers.
10-27-2007 @ 10:40PM
Joe said...
Having worked at ML for 7 years in both their Trust company and retail branches, the following are reasons why I'm happy to no longer be there:
1) Merrill Lynch is a morally and ethically bankrupt organization.
2) At Merrill Lynch, Politics prevails over meritocracy.
3) Because of the politics at Merrill Lynch, the very few good people do all the work while the "politicians" spend the majority of their time keeping their lips securely attached to the necessary behinds.
4) There are (without a doubt) some very inept and evil people working at Merrill Lynch.
3) At ML, Directors force the managers to make employees lie on their time cards so as not to pay overtime.
When, not if.... when the house of BS falls... and when the acquiring firm is in the process of deciding who's heads will roll... they should be smart and secretly survey the employees. They have a lot of dead wood there and it needs to go - and never rehired by anyone ever again.