JPMorgan wanted Eaton Vance deal - Systematic trading in bonds - Traders talk getting in on IPOs

Hiya.

Nice scoop from the Financial Times on Wednesday regarding the mysterious "Party A" bidder who competed with Morgan Stanley on its plans to acquire Eaton Vance.

Turns out it was JPMorgan. What's even more interesting, JPMorgan, which initially approached Eaton Vance unsolicited before Morgan Stanley, actually had submitted a counter offer that was higher than Morgan Stanley's winning bid.

From the FT story:

While that offer was higher than Morgan Stanley's winning bid, Thomas Faust, Eaton Vance chairman and chief executive, declined to re-enter talks with JPMorgan because of an "oral agreement" with Morgan Stanley "not to pursue competing transactions", according to the filing.

Even in the midst of a pandemic, a handshake deal stands firm.

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Wall Street leans into systematic strategies in bond trading

Trading on many financial markets has largely gone electronic. The bond market, however, has been a noticeable holdout until the past few years.

But as more trading of US corporate bonds takes place on electronic venues, the strategies firms deploy are changing too.

Bradley Saacks and I dove into the rise of systematic trading taking place in corporate bonds. Some of the biggest players on Wall Street, including AQR, Point 72, and, most recently, Blackstone, have all thrown their hat in the ring.

Click here to read the entire story.

Investors are scrambling to get into the biggest private companies before the next IPO. 2 traders lay out what that means for the opaque secondary market.

IPOs have been all the talk this month. Bradley Saacks spoke to an execution firm that helps investors deal in both public and private companies about all the madness. Read more here.

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