NEW YORK: A Morgan Stanley employee has accidentally leaked an internal document listing more than 100 investment banking deals the firm is pitching and monitoring in Asia, revealing details of the bank’s pipeline, according to people familiar with the matter.
The list contained candidates for initial public offerings, spanning from China to South Korea and India, according to a copy seen by Bloomberg News and verified by people familiar with the matter.
The list, which focused mostly on Asia, along with Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, also included private equity and pension funds backing those companies, and projects that were put on hold.
The deals list was sent out via email this week to some clients by Mohamed Atmani, Asia-Pacific head of financial sponsors in the investment banking department, who later sought to retract the message, according to people familiar with the matter.
A blurred copy was also posted by an account on Instagram.
The banker had intended to send a client-facing version of the file, which largely contained general updates on the private equity sector and recent transactions, but mistakenly sent the internal version instead, some of which contained extensive price-sensitive information.
Atmani, a managing director based in Hong Kong, who joined the bank in 2018, declined to comment immediately and could not be reached for further comment.
In a statement to Bloomberg News, Morgan Stanley said it takes client confidentiality extremely seriously.
“We promptly took steps to address this inadvertent sharing of information and we continue to engage with relevant parties,” the New York-based firm said.
The incident is an embarrassing misstep for the bank, which has ranked among the top underwriters of Hong Kong stock sales and Asia mergers for years.
While such errors are rare, it highlights the sensitivity of information handled by investment banking teams, where details of prospective client transactions are typically closely guarded.
Leaks about an imminent share placement can frustrate clients pursuing block trades, especially if details emerge before a deal is launched.
Such disclosures can weigh on the stock as investors brace for additional supply, potentially cutting proceeds for the seller and making execution more difficult for banks.
Private equity firms increasingly use IPOs and follow-on placements to accelerate exits and return capital to investors.
Premature disclosure can disrupt those sales and damage relationships with banks handling the transactions.
It’s unclear whether clients and related parties have reached out to Morgan Stanley and how the firm is addressing the issue.
Several banks and financial institutions have accidentally leaked sensitive documents in recent years, leading to regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and long‑term customer trust issues.
After a situation such as this, restoring the relationship of trust with clients is key, Michael Aiello, a prominent mergers and acquisitions (M&A) lawyer, said.
“The first thing you have to do is run to the fire,” Charlie Bouckaert, JPMorgan Chase & Co’s global head of M&A, said about handling such situations. — Bloomberg
