London-based S.G. Warburg and Paris-based Paribas (Compagnie Financiere de Paris et des Pays-Bas, prior to the bank's nationalization in 1982). As a result of the transaction, the firm operated under the name A.G. Becker-Warburg Paribas Becker and was 40% owned by the two European merchant banks and 60% owned by the existing shareholders of Becker, a combination of employees and management. In 1982, the two European firms increased their stake from 40% to just over 50%, after they made a joint investment of $15 million to $20 million. The transaction, which had been championed by S.G. Warburg founder Siegmund Warburg and Becker's president Paul Judy, expanded Becker's capital base and added an international dimension to its investment banking business. At the time, the deal was considered emblematic of the globalization of finance. The joint venture was initially successful in elevating Becker's position in investment banking throughout the mid-1970s. However, the firm was plagued by competition between Warburg and Paribas, as well as cultural conflicts between French, English and American executives and internal management issues in the U.S. In 1978, Becker's president, Paul Judy, an architect of the joint venture was replaced by Ira Wender. Under Wender, a number of key executives who had built the firm either were forced out or left the company. Becker Paribas and the sale to Merrill Lynch (1982-1984) Becker's president Ira Wender was forced out of the firm in 1982 when the firm announced a major restatement of its financials revealing larger operating losses. He was replaced by Daniel J. Good and John G. Heimann. In July 1982, the two European partners increased their stake to just over 50% taking control of the business, in exchange for an equity injection needed to stabilize the company's finances. In October 1982, S.G. Warburg founder Siegmund Warburg, who had been the primary advocate for the Warburg investment in Becker, died. Although Warburg had originally planned to buy out Paribas, after Siegmund Warburg's death, Paribas bought out Warburg's interest in the joint venture in early 1983. Following the departure of Warburg from the joint venture, the firm was renamed A.G. Becker Paribas. Now effectively in control of the firm, Paribas, took a more visible role in managing Becker. In June 1983, Paribas' president Herve M. Pinet, became chairman and chief executive of Becker, and Daniel J. Good became president and chief operating officer. Even though the profitability of other