Wachovia reportedly in talks with Morgan Stanley
This may cause some nervousness at Jefferson & Market, the old A.G. Edwards headquarters: The New York Times reports that Wachovia is among the possible suitors for Morgan Stanley.
Morgan Stanley, one of the few independent investment banks left on Wall Street, watched its shares fall 24 percent today as investors try to figure out who will be the next victim of the financial crisis. Wachovia also has been weakened, and some analysts have said it may have to look for a buyer itself.
The Times story, based on “people briefed on the discussions,” is short on specifics. Here’s the key paragraph:
As Morgan Stanley’s share price came under renewed assault on Wednesday, the firm’s chief executive, John J. Mack, received a telephone call from Wachovia expressing interest in the Wall Street bank. Other banks have also expressed interest in Morgan Stanley, which is considering various options. The talks with Wachovia are preliminary and no deal may emerge.
If a deal does emerge, though, it could be bad for St. Louis. When Wachovia bought A.G. Edwards, it made St. Louis the headquarters for Wachovia Securities and moved jobs here from Richmond, Va. Presumably some of those functions would migrate to New York after the purchase of a major Wall Street player.
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David Nicklaus has covered St. Louis business for more than 25 years. His column appears three days a week on the Post-Dispatch business page. 
Just think when the internal battle for AG Edwards after Ben Edwards retired and for the first time in the history of AGE they turned the reigns over to a NON-Edwards family member….
5-6 years later the firm, jobs and STL economy may be destroyed. If Mr. Tad Edwards had been able to run his family company, more than likely the firm would be in a different place.
Somewhere, the old board members who sent this proud firm down this road at Edwards is throwing up. Hopefully on their own shoes.