Stan O'Neal Weekend Watch
Update: WSJ Says He's Done.

Posted by John Carney, Oct 27, 2007, 11:22am

Red Sox Win!: They're shipping up to Boston with the World Series trophy. Our friend Will Leitch at Deadspin said it best: "The Rockies did the best they could to make a game, or a series, out of it, but it just wasn't happening: The Boston Red Sox were not to be denied." We're not going anywhere Professor Thom's tonight but congratulations to all our lads and lasses up in the New York City embassy of Red Sox nation. (10.29.07)

Portfolio: The connection between the news media and back-room power-plays. (10.28.07)

[Editor's note: It is 7:55. And that's probably our last update for a while. Time to see if Colorado gets swept. Assuming the bartender at our local pub doesn't over-serve us, we'll check back in after the game. In the meantime, feel free to leave any updates in the comments section below or email us at tips@dealbreaker.com. If nothing new develops from the Merrill board tonight (which seems likely given the hour), we'll see you back here tomorrow morning. ]

CNBC: Merrill's board considered offering Stan O'Neal the position of interim CEO while they choose a permanent director. Sources close to the situation initially said that a member of the Merrill board would be named interim chairman. (10.28.07)

Bloomberg: The pile-on begins! Daniel Tully, who ran Merrill Lynch in the 1990s, calls firm's third-quarter losses "sickening."

WSJ: Stan has "decided to leave," according to familiar people! (10.28.07)

CNBC: Stan O'Neal "has been ousted as chairman and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch that much is certain," reports Charlie Gasparino. (10.28.07)

Reuters: Blackrock boss Larry Fink says he's unaware that he's a candidate for the top spot at Merrill Lynch. That would make him the only one who is unaware. (10.28.07)

NYT: The Merrill board has reached a broad consensus that Stan will go, according to people briefed on the discussions. (10.28.07)

IHT: The price-tag of ousting O'Neal: $159 million. (10.28.07)

WSJ: O'Neal is expected to step down, according to someone familiar with the firm's plans. (10.27.07)

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Posted in: CEO, Merrill Lynch

Comments

Posted by mrpink, Oct 28, 2007 12:03PM

John hard at work on a Sunday!

Posted by sdh, Oct 28, 2007 2:11PM

wonder what he will do next? the dude is young. maybe he'll start wall street firm or just spend the rest of his days golfing.

Posted by NotNasser, Oct 28, 2007 2:49PM

Price Tag of ousting O'Neal, $159 million
Postage on the release saying you've done so ... pennies.
Feeling of having shown a jerk the door ... priceless.

Some things money can't buy. For everything else, there are mortgage derivatives.

Posted by Mr. M, Oct 28, 2007 3:49PM

@ NotNasser

Wait, I thought he was just a well meaning guy with a knack for doing the wrong thing?

Jerk and we think of that "Ivy league alum" dude...

Posted by , Oct 28, 2007 4:19PM

"Where You'll Find The Latest On Merrill Lynch's Embattled CEO"

Funny claim to make. Actually the best source for anyone without real time news is a google search, since they have all of it before Dealbreaker does. You just parrot it over here. And it's not all that timely

Posted by , Oct 28, 2007 6:05PM

ha ha...i came here just to see the work ethic. good to know DB works on the wknds too.

Posted by , Oct 28, 2007 6:55PM

I see that Carney managed to change the earlier title caption about how timely its news is. Not a great thing to claim when Google and lots of blogs are out earlier with the same stuff. Making those claims just holds you up to ridicule because let's face it, this blog, as entertaining as it sometimes is, is a cut and paste job of google news and other blogs who get the news first.

One other thing. Just noticed that this post is dated yesterday morning. That's rather strange when it wasn't here this morning. Looks like it was up around noon today. Timely indeed. Tsk. Tsk.

If you're going to hold yourself up as being so timely, fudging posting times doesn't look good.

Posted by Ironic, Oct 28, 2007 6:59PM

6:55 - keep in mind, Carney doesn't believe there's anything wrong with backdating options, since no one loses. So who gives a shit if they back date this blog?

Posted by John Carney, Oct 28, 2007 7:29PM

We began the post yesterday but didn't have much to fill the space. Took it down yesterday afternoon because it was kind of dumb to promise updates when we didn't have any. Put it back up again today when the news started to roll with Stan O'Neal's head. My apologies for the confusion.

Also, thanks for appreciating our special Sunday service.

Posted by Authentic, Oct 28, 2007 7:40PM

Word up, Carney. Let these googling geeks fuck off. Way to keep up with the most interesting stories. Google news just keep repeating the newsfeeds while you have 8 different, unique stories.

Posted by Banker Girl, Oct 28, 2007 7:44PM

Don't let them get you down, Carney. The boys are just bitter because they're working on a Sunday night.

Go Sox!

Posted by mrpink, Oct 28, 2007 7:50PM

bitter they have to work on a Sunday to prevent from having their asses handed to them on a sunday.

Totally agree with Banker Girl.

Posted by Random Banker, Oct 28, 2007 8:26PM

Poor Stan. Anyway, its time for him to start a PE shop. Its the easiest way to make large sums of money with out the required acumen and risk controls needed to run a hedge fund.

Stan could be the next JC Flowers. Anyway, I feel so bad that he had to go out this way, but the Wachovia maneuver really did smack of desperation.

Posted by strong black man, Oct 28, 2007 9:07PM

take the money and run nigga! you know we got yo back out here on 125th st fam.

Posted by X, Oct 28, 2007 10:31PM

8:26 r u on drugs?

Chris Flowers made a Billion out of thin air.

He was not some cost cutting admin surronded by yes men.

Yeah Stan should become Kravis too

Posted by Vesey St., Oct 29, 2007 12:04AM

My money is on Fink and monday morning massacre with Fleming, Fahakany, and new Head of Fixed income gone

Also, look for major board turnover/lawsuits, they approved all this nonsense from the Semerci buffoon to First franklin.

Bonus Bagels & Donuts for all

Posted by , Oct 29, 2007 12:53AM

Serious. What the fcuk was whoever the fcuk thinking when they bought First Franklin? Everyone who knew anything about the mortgages on the street know that it was going down. They bought a subprime originator at about the same time as New Century was going down!

Posted by Anal_yst, Oct 29, 2007 12:54AM

Love how no one even questioned why, with John working on the weekend, what Bess is doing (recovering, or still drinking, although thats probably a stretch since shes not a huge football fan)

Posted by Random Banker, Oct 29, 2007 1:03AM

@X:

Henry Kravis is a joke. And JC Flower made his money essentially all in one deal. I'm quite sure Stan could does equally as good of a job taking over a third tear Asian bank as Chris Flowers did.

Posted by He who dies with the most toys..., Oct 29, 2007 1:09AM

Kravis may be a joke (although I don't see how), but if I had what the $2bn+ he's worth, I probably wouldn't give a rats ass what you called me, soo yea I'm sure he's not too worried about what anyone thinks of him is all I'm saying

Posted by Idiot, Oct 29, 2007 3:40AM

What's Bess recovering from ?

Posted by Random Banker, Oct 29, 2007 4:09AM

@He who dies with the most toys...

He's a joke because the whole LBO trade is a joke. If you lever up a company and put in 20% equity you will get rich, period. It simply ain't rocket science. Meanwhile Kravis is so high on himself and his ego he starts bidding wars and pissing contests over whole the real "king of buy outs" is. King of buy outs?, the whole concept is a joke. I could get a 7th grader with a TI-83 calculator to run an LBO.

He needs to get over himself.

P.S. You will get to a point in your life when you realize that buying more toys is no long satisfying, that you are buying toys in order to over compensate for your father never coming to your football games in high school, at which point you're going to have to sit down with your shrink and just hug it out. Hug-it-out, bitch.

Posted by Idiot, Oct 29, 2007 4:32AM

leave some of that liquor for me...

Posted by OJ Simpson, Oct 29, 2007 6:51AM

Stan,
I play golf all day. Its a good thing. Have yourself Harold Ford Jr come down to FLA for a round.

Juice

Posted by girl, Oct 29, 2007 9:33AM

Random Banker, that post script is one of the best things i've read here...ever

Posted by x, Oct 29, 2007 9:59AM

1:03 the only company Stan ever bought (First Franklin) was a dud.

enough said.

The Head of Carlyle and many others noted that Shinsei/Ripplewood may be the most profitable PE deal of all time...

3rd tier bank...yeah buying 1st tier banks is better...you might want get promoted b-4 you keep talking out of your...

Posted by , Oct 29, 2007 10:05AM

What were you smoking Random Banker?

Posted by Random Banker, Oct 29, 2007 3:43PM

@X:

Don't get your panties in a bunch. I didn't say it wasn't a "brilliant" deal. I'm just not convinced Chris Flowers wasn't just lucky. Which is why I noted he hasn't done it again and all of his fortune has come from one deal.

Now you may be asking, who do I think I can that I can question the ability of the Former head of Goldman FIG to do FIG deals? But I'm afraid the first trick finance professionals are able to pull is maintaining that they know what they're doing and their genius shouldn't be questioned.

I certainly pull this act myself, but I am a cynic. Just because some one is rich doesn't mean they deserve my respect.

Given a normal distribution of FIG bankers in the universe someone was bound to become Chris Flowers.

Do I think Stan will do the same? No. When I said he'd be the next Chris Flowers, I just meant ex-banker to start a decent PE shop. Stan doesn't need to hit home runs, just singles.

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