Citigroup analyst Bill Katz believes that Legg Mason [profile] might be better off intact, according to Reuters.

MFWire looked at the possibility of the spinoff of Western Asset Management Co. from Legg Mason in October in the wake of the ouster of Mark Fetting.

According to Reuters, Katz wrote a report Friday arguing that selling or spinning off Western would require a complex and difficult process that might only boost Legg Mason's share price to about $29.

"Given execution risk and time leakage, the pro forma upside may not be enough to attract investors," Katz wrote. He added that his analysis was "further washing away the lingering bull thesis around major break up."

At $25.02 on Friday, the shares trade at less than one-quarter of the level they fetched before the financial crisis.

Read more about the argument in Reuters. 

Edited by: Tommy Fernandez


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