Morgan Stanley has sold its global oil trading operations to Russian state-run oil major Rosneft, becoming the latest Wall Street firm to dispose of a major part of its commodity business.It is a bold move into the U.S. market by Russia's top oil producer, headed by Igor Sechin, a powerful ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin. The Russian state owns almost 70 percent of the company.The deal includes more than 100 traders and shipping schedulers, over $1 billion worth of oil, and the bank's 49 percent stake in tanker company Heidmar.The purchase will not include Morgan Stanley's oil storage, pipeline, and terminalling firm, TransMontaigne Inc., which may help avoid significant scrutiny of the deal in Washington. The United States has at times been hostile to international companies buying up U.S. infrastructure in recent years.
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides its products and services to a range of clients and customers, including corporations, governments, financial institutions and individuals. Shares of MS traded higher by 0.68% or $0.21/share to $31.07. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $18.50 and as high as $31.85. On average, 12891300 shares of MS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 9807097.
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