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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 4:33 a.m., Monday, October 13, 2008

Japanese bank invests $9B in Morgan Stanley

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Morgan Stanley got a much-needed cash infusion today, raising $9 billion by selling preferred shares to the Japanese bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. Morgan Stanley's shares surged.

The closing of the deal comes a day earlier than expected, and with revised parameters for what Mitsubishi will receive for its investment. The deal, which gives Mitsubishi a 21 percent stake in Morgan Stanley, was revised after Morgan Stanley lost nearly 60 percent of its value last week amid speculation the deal would not close.

Shares of Morgan Stanley moved sharply higher, rising $3.97, or 41 percent, to $13.65 in morning trading after rising as high as $16.10 earlier in the session. Its shares had traded as high as $68.39 over the past year.

"These are truly unprecedented times, and I know the last few weeks have been difficult for all of you," Morgan Stanley Chief Executive John Mack wrote in a memo to the firm's employees on Monday. "Tough times like this test people, and the people of Morgan Stanley have risen to the challenge."

The revised deal is more attractive to Mitsubishi, giving it only preferred stock, instead of a mix of preferred and common stock. That enables Mitsubishi to receive dividends on the entire investment. A portion of the preferred stock is convertible to common stock under the revised deal.

As part of the revised deal, Mitsubishi will receive $7.8 billion in convertible preferred stock that carries a 10 percent dividend and is convertible at a price of $25.25 per share. The Japanese bank will also receive $1.2 billion in non-convertible preferred stock, which also carries a 10 percent dividend.

Last month, Morgan Stanley agreed that Mitsubishi would invest $9 billion in equity for a stake in the New York-based investment bank. Mitsubishi initially planned to buy $3 billion in common stock at a price of $25.25 per share and acquire an additional $6 billion in convertible preferred stock that carries a dividend of 10 percent and a conversion price of $31.25 per share.

The deal came as the credit crisis worsened and competitor Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch & Co. was sold to Bank of America Corp. Morgan Stanley changed its status to a bank holding company, which will allow it to create a large deposit base.

The change was precipitated by fears that stand-alone investment banks might no longer be viable operations as credit markets continue to worsen.

Mitsubishi is one of the world's largest banks with $1.1 trillion in deposits.

Aside from the cash investment, Mitsubishi will receive one seat on Morgan Stanley's board of directors, and the pair plan to work jointly as part of a global strategic alliance.

The pair said they have already identified multiple areas for potential collaboration, including corporate and investment banking, certain parts of retail banking and asset management, as well as lending activities such as corporate loans.

The deal also helps both companies expand their global footprints.

The new capital helps Morgan Stanley increase its capital ratio and decrease its leverage ratio, two key statistics used to determine the health of a bank, especially amid the ongoing credit crisis.

On a pro-forma basis, Morgan Stanley now has a Tier 1 capital ratio of 15.5 percent, well above the Federal Reserve's 6 percent required to be considered "well capitalized."