Login
Citi joint venture with Morgan Stanley
Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Freehills have on the advised $US2.7 billion ($3.4 billion) Citi-Morgan Stanley global joint venture with, which was completed on 1 June. The joint venture merged…
Lawyers Weekly
Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Freehills have on the advised $US2.7 billion ($3.4 billion) Citi-Morgan Stanley global joint venture with, which was completed on 1 June.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
The joint venture merged the two companies' retail broking businesses in the US, Europe and Australasia to form Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.
According to Mallesons partner Joshua Cole, who acted for Citi, these types of deals, involving the co-ordination of legal teams across a number of jurisdictions, are becoming more common in the current environment.
"The GFC has given rise to a number of global transactions which require the crafting of some complex arrangements in very tight timeframes and this one was no exception," Cole said.
Freehills partner Fiona Gardiner-Hill concurred: "The unusual and complex nature of many aspects of the transaction, and the comparative speed with which the deal was implemented, made the work both interesting and challenging."
The joint venture operation in Australia means that the former business of Citi Smith Barney Pty Ltd will now operate under the name Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Australia Pty Ltd.
