HOWZAT

He is an unpleasant man, a bully and arrogant beyond most people’s comprehension.

But after a fearsome start the angry eight have run out of steam. All that’s left is a bunch of very rich, bitter old men carping on about how things were better in their day. They’ve even started complaining that Purcell spends too much time in Chicago and not enough time in New York. Hello! This is a global investment bank we are talking about.

Frankly, they are beginning to look a little silly. As one London-based Morgan Stanley banker put it last week: “All these old men are saying really is that Purcell is not the right sort of chap. And we don’t even do that in the City any more.”

People keep comparing Purcell to Disney’s Michael Eisner. There are parallels — both are unpopular autocrats with a penchant for sacking dissenters. Both have been personally attacked by former bigwigs — attacks that in Eisner’s case eventually led to his exit.

But there are also big differences. Eisner was once a truly impressive boss, one of the great executives of his era. Purcell was never in his league.

Sustained sniping will probably lead to Purcell’s exit far more quickly than it did to Eisner’s. But Purcell’s will not be the only reputation damaged by this scrap. These Morgan Stanley-ists deserve each other. How long until clients start taking their business elsewhere?

Fortune favours...

YOU read it here first. Last week we reported that America’s Fortune Brands had taken on bankers at CSFB to advise it on a European deal — a bid with Pernod Ricard of France for Britain’s Allied Domecq.

Come last Tuesday the various companies confirmed that they were in talks, but since then there has been radio silence. As Matthew Goodman reports on page 6, we think the deal makes a lot of sense and is likely to happen. The chances of an interloper arriving on the scene are slim (although Pernod needs to keep a close eye on France’s LVMH and Constellation Brands, a US group).

And while there is a rush to complete due diligence by April 21 when Allied reports its interims, nobody is expecting any horrors to emerge.

So it will come down to financing. Pernod, which has a decent track record at paying off large debt, plans to raise about £5 billion of debt, and use £1 billion of its equity. No problems there. But Fortune will be taking a big gulp.

It will be handing over to Pernod just shy of £3 billion for various brands Pernod will later transfer to it.

But if the deal gets through that episode, then Pernod will begin to look like a company with the size to make Diageo, the industry’s big bully, feel a little bit less comfortable.