DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) agreed to acquire prime brokerage services and technology provider Merlin Securities LLC as it looks to expand its offerings for asset managers. Financial terms weren't disclosed. Wells Fargo, the nation's largest mortgage lender, expects to close the deal during the third quarter. Merlin serves more than 500 single- and multi-primed managers and provides open-architecture technology, custody and clearing services, operational support, and securities trading. "With the acquisition of Merlin, we are gaining highly scalable, broker neutral technology with multi-asset and multi-custodian capabilities," said Chris Bartlett, Wells Fargo Securities's head of equity sales and trading. "Merlin's open architecture platform enables clients to choose the custodian and trading platform that is right for their business." Merlin managing partners Stephan Vermut and Aaron Vermut will continue to lead the prime services offering. Wells Fargo has a smaller capital markets business than its big bank peers. The company reported earlier this month its first-quarter profit rose 13% as strong mortgage banking contributed to a better-than-expected 6.4% revenue increase. Shares closed Thursday at $33.84 and were inactive premarket. The stock has risen 23% so far this year. -By Melodie Warner, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2283; melodie.warner@dowjones.com
