Morgan Stanley to Buy Stock-Plan Firm Solium at 43% Premium (1)

Morgan Stanley agreed to buy Solium Capital Inc. in a bid to add younger clients and tech startups to its stock-plan administration business.

The firm will pay C$19.15 a share in cash, according to a statement Feb. 11, or about 43 percent higher than Solium’s closing price on Friday, Feb. 8. The agreement values Solium at about $900 million.

Morgan Stanley will add Calgary-based Solium’s 3,000 stock-plan clients and 1 million participants to its rival offering, which has 320 clients and 1.5 million participants. Solium’s clients include such startups as Stripe Inc., Instacart Inc. and Shopify Inc., giving Morgan Stanley’s ...