Morgan Stanley is nearing the sale of its stake in China International Capital Corp to two US private equity firms – Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and TPG – for about $1bn, ending a strained relationship.
A deal would produce a tidy profit for Morgan Stanley, which invested $37m in the Chinese investment bank almost 15 years ago, and free the company to pursue a new joint venture with China Fortune Securities, a Chinese brokerage.
Morgan Stanley wants to establish a new partnership to grant it the right to trade stocks and other securities on local Chinese markets. The New York-based bank, which has chafed at the limitations of its passive investment in CICC, also wants management control over such a venture.