Morgan Stanley Reigns Supreme Among Underwriters (MS)

Morgan Stanley MS tops the global ranking in equity underwriting year-to-date and has its highest market share in the category in six years thanks to its role as lead bookrunner of the Treasury Department's sale of its remaining stake in Citigroup Inc. C. Morgan Stanley - which handled 87%, or 2.1 billion Citigroup shares, in the deal - now boasts a global market share of 8.9% within equity capital markets, up from 7.8% before the Citi transaction. That share pushed it past the 7.9% previously held by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS, according to data provider Dealogic. The investment bank has served as an underwriter on 292 transactions--including initial public offerings and stock offerings--valued at $73.4 billion so far in 2010. Within the U.S., the 2.4 billion Citigroup-share stake sale boosted Morgan Stanley's U.S. market share to 17.6%, well ahead of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. JPM, which holds the second ranking at 13.4%. Morgan Stanley's next-highest market share globally and in the U.S. was in 2004, when it posted 14.5% and 9.6% within the two regions. The firm also has benefited since then by the disappearance of some major competitors--most notably Bear Stearns, which was acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. LEHMQ, which failed in September 2008.