美林CEO即将离职
Merrill Chief Stan O'Neal Has Decided To Leave - Source
美林(Merrill Lynch & Co.)首席执行长斯坦•奥尼尔(Stan O'Neal)已经决定要离开公司。据知情人士透露，奥尼尔于美东时间周日下午与公司董事会商谈了他被迫离职的条件。
美林董事会预计会同时在公司内外广泛搜寻替代奥尼尔的人选。而有关奥尼尔辞职的消息最早有望于今日宣布。
当前有望赢得奥尼尔之位的人选包括投资管理公司BlackRock Inc.的首席执行长劳伦斯•芬克(Laurence Fink)和美林的现任联席总裁格里高利•弗莱明(Gregory Fleming)。美林董事会也或许作出让此二人分权共治的临时安排，从而给自己留出更多进一步寻找永久人选的时间。据华尔街业内高层人士称，前高盛公司(Goldman Sachs)总裁约翰•泰恩(John Thain)以及主管美林庞大经纪业务部门的鲍博•麦克凯恩(Bob McCann)可能也会成为考虑中的接替奥尼尔的人选。
在过去几周里，芬克的名字频频被提及，但据知情人士讲，董事会尚未与他进行过深入的磋商。
自美林三周前宣布50亿美元的资产冲减以来，公司董事们日益感到沮丧。上周美林公布业绩时，冲减额又增加了30多亿美元，致使公司三季度净亏损额高达22.4亿美元，而据分析师称，该公司最终的资产冲减还不止这些，未来很可能还会有数十亿美元的冲减出现。
《纽约时报》(New York Times)有报导称奥尼尔在过去一周里和Wachovia的首席执行长G. 肯尼迪•汤普生(G. Kennedy Thompson)进行了接触，讨论这家总部设在北卡罗来纳州夏洛特的银行是否有兴趣与美林合并。奥尼尔在此之前并未与公司董事会商量，而据知情人士透露，汤普生的回答是他当前正在集中精力忙于牵涉公司最近两笔收购交易的业务整合，因此现在商讨与美林的合并并非恰当时机。
知情人士透露说，芬克和奥尼尔周四共进了晚餐，由此激发了人们关于美林管理层即将发生变更的猜测。美林发言人拒绝就此发表评论。
Randall Smith
本文涉及股票或公司
Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.
总部地点：美国
上市地点：纽约证交所
股票代码：MER
Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive Stan O'Neal has decided to leave the firm. The 56-year-old CEO was negotiating the terms of his forced departure on Sunday afternoon in the wake of a multibillion-dollar write-off he announced last week, according to a person briefed on the negotiations.
Merrill's board is expected to consider external candidates and current Merrill executives in its search for a successor. Mr. O'Neal's resignation is expected to be announced as early as today.
Those in the running for Mr. O'Neal's job include Laurence Fink, chief executive of money manager BlackRock Inc. and Gregory Fleming, Merrill's co-president. There could also be some power-sharing arrangement involving the two men, or a temporary solution to give the board more time to find a permanent replacement. Other contenders may include John Thain, the CEO of NYSE Euronext and himself a former president of Goldman Sachs, and Bob McCann, head of Merrill's huge brokerage arm.
Mr. Fink's name has been mentioned repeatedly over the past week, but people familiar with the matter said the board hasn't had extensive discussions with him.
Directors have grown increasingly frustrated since Merrill announced $5 billion in write-downs three weeks ago. In the past week, the size of the hit grew by more than $3 billion, and Merrill reported a $2.24 billion net loss for the third quarter. Analysts say several billion dollars in additional write-downs may be in store.
The latest board meeting came after news that Mr. O'Neal had approached Wachovia Chief Executive G. Kennedy Thompson in the past week about whether the Charlotte, N.C., bank would be interested in a combination with Merrill. Mr. O'Neal didn't consult with the board before making the phone call. Mr. Thompson, who has said he is focused on integrating two recent acquisitions, said the timing wasn't right for a deal, people familiar with the matter said.
Mr. Fink and Mr. O'Neal had dinner together Thursday night, people familiar with the matter said, fueling speculation of a management change. A Merrill spokeswoman declined to comment.
Randall Smith