In Online Brokerage, Brown to Buy Dreyfus
In a consolidation of online brokerages, J. P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s Brown & Company has agreed to buy Mellon Financial Corp.'s Dreyfus Brokerage Services.The all-cash acquisition will yield 75,000 accounts and an estimated $6 billion of assets in safekeeping. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close early next year pending regulatory approval, were not disclosed.
"This acquisition will increase our market share in the active, experienced investor marketplace," Elizabeth J. Fisher, president/CEO of Brown, said in a statement.
"We're committed to growing this business and look forward to welcoming Dreyfus investors to what Brown & company investors have always valued: $5 trades and … customer service," Fisher said.
A deep discount broker for self-investors, Brown is the seventh-largest online brokerage.
The sale of Dreyfus was a "part of the continued sharpening of our strategic focus," Stephen E. Canter, vice-chairman and CEO of The Dreyfus Corp, said in a statement.
