E*Trade Fires Morgan Stanley After Griffin’s Citadel Bitches

E*Trade Financial bowed to pressure from its largest shareholder, Citadel LLC, and said its board formed a new special committee of independent directors, which hired Goldman Sachs Group to conduct a review of strategic alternatives.the WSJ reports.

The move–for now–calms the heated battle for the future of the online brokerage, which began last month.

Citadel, a hedge fund manager and owner of 9.8% of the company’s stock, has been pressuring E*Trade to call a special shareholder meeting to discuss options, including a potential sale of the company. In a letter to E*Trade Chief Executive Steven Freiberg, Citadel Chief Legal Officer Adam Cooper wrote, “We trust this new process, involving all directors, will be more transparent and objective.”

Additionally, Cooper said, “we believe it is appropriate to suspend further shareholder action at this time, including our request for a special meeting of E*Trade’s shareholders….”

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