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Morgan Stanley eyes Dean Witter spin-off

NEW YORK, April 5 (UPI) -- New York banking giant Morgan Stanley said Tuesday it was pursuing a spin-off of its Discover Financial Services, which includes its credit card operations.

The move, which also covers its Dean Witter brokerage business, comes amid intense opposition to chief executive Philip J. Purcell, who has estranged Morgan Stanley investment banking leadership since the 1997 merger with Dean Witter, Discover & Co., a brokerage and credit card business.

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Purcell's detractors blame him for weak share price performance and favoritism towards Dean Witter executives.

But Morgan Stanley's board, which elected not to sell its Discover division outright, appears solidly behind Purcell.

The spin-off could put Discover in play, the Wall Street Journal said. An analyst at Fox-Pitt, Kelton, said a separately traded Discover unit would have a market value of about $14 billion.

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