Could Merrill Lynch and Wachovia Really Pull Off a Merger?
The banking world was stunned this morning when rumors surfaced that Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O’Neal had approached Charlotte, NC-based Wachovia about a possible merger. Even more surprising is that supposedly Mr. O’Neal approached Wachovia without approval from the Board of Directors at Merrill Lynch ( see Zac Bissonnette’s article from Bloggingstocks.com). Although many analysts have stated that they do not believe a merger is in the works, we here at IntellectSpace were curious as to whether or not Merrill Lynch and Wachovia had corporate ties that could play a role in a least feeling out a merger. We created a Knowledge Map to examine these ties and found some very interesting connections between Merrill Lynch and Wachovia (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).
After reviewing the Knowledge Map we find several close ties. The strongest involves Jerome Gitt. Mr. Gitt, currently a Director at Wachovia, is a former VP of Equity Research at Merrill Lynch and would have valuable inside knowledge of both companies.
Another notable tie is through General Motors. Former Wachovia Director Erskine Bowles shares a directorship at GM with Merrill Lynch Director Armando Codina. CEO Stanley O’Neal is also a former GM Director and most likely all three men are either quite familiar with each other or have overlapping contacts.
Mr. Bowles can also be connected to Merrill Lynch through former Directors Richard McCormack and William Crowe Jr. All three men have experience working in the White House and the Office of the President of the United States, with Mr. Bowles serving as White House Chief of Staff under President Clinton from 1996-1998. It is highly probable that they have overlapping connections due to their time spent in government.
While a merger between Merrill Lynch and Wachovia might just be a rumor, information from the IntellectSpace database shows us that there are viable connections that could be used as stepping stones for negotiations should this rumor become fact.
Click here for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map (Internet Explorer browsers only): http://nv.intellectspace.com
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