Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley said Thursday they will merge their Japanese securities businesses to create the nation's second-largest brokerage.
The two firms will put Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. and Morgan Stanley Japan Securities Co. into a new venture by March 31, 2010, they said in a joint statement. Mitsubishi UFJ, the country's biggest bank, will own 60 percent and New York-based Morgan Stanley will own the remainder.
Mitsubishi UFJ Chief Executive Officer Nobuo Kuroyanagi is seizing on the $9 billion investment he made in Morgan Stanley in October to gain ground on local rival Nomura Holdings Inc.