Morgan Stanley to acquire E-Trade for $13B

E-Trade had the second highest amount of deposits in Virginia as of June 30.

Published February 20, 2020 by Sydney Lake

New York City-based wealth management company Morgan Stanley will acquire Arlington-based E-Trade Financial Corp. under a $13 billion definitive agreement expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, the companies announced Thursday.

E-Trade stockholders will receive 1.0432 Morgan Stanley stares for each of their E-Trade shares as a result of the acquisition, which is subject to closing conditions, regulatory approvals and approval from E-Trade shareholders.

“E-Trade represents an extraordinary growth opportunity for our Wealth Management business and a leap forward in our Wealth Management strategy,” Morgan Stanley Chairman and CEO James Gorman said in a statement. “E-Trade’s products, innovation in technology, and established brand will help position Morgan Stanley as a top player across all three channels: Financial Advisory, Self-Directed, and Workplace.”

E-Trade, which is based in Arlington but provides online banking service across the nation, has more than 5.2 million client accounts and more than $360 billion in retail client assets, while Morgan Stanley has 3 million accounts and more than $2.7 trillion in client assets. 

The companies indicate that the acquisition will add approximately $56 billion of low-cost deposits and Morgan Stanley’s wealth and investment management services will contribute to 57% of the firm’s pre-tax profits — more than double what it was a decade ago. 

As of June 30, 2019, E-Trade Bank, a subsidiary of E-Trade Financial Corp., an online trading platform, had the second highest amount of deposits among Virginia banks, with $40.7 billion in deposits for fiscal year 2018.