Merrill May Take BlackRock Stake

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. is in advanced talks to acquire a large stake in money manager BlackRock Inc. for $8 billion, the Wall Street Journal's online edition reported Sunday.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Journal said such a deal would create a $1-trillion fund-management colossus and transform Merrill Lynch, the largest U.S. retail brokerage.

Merrill Lynch is stepping into a void created by the recent failure of talks between rival Morgan Stanley and BlackRock, the Journal said. Final terms were being worked out over the weekend, the Journal reported.