Becker Paribas. A major participant in the "Big Bang" reforms of the 1980s under the leadership of its Chief executive Sir David Scholey, it acquired stockjobber Ackroyd & Smithers, stockbroker Rowe & Pitman, and the government gilt broker Mullens & Co. in August 1984. The bank became the preeminent UK-based M&A (merger and acquisition) adviser, equity underwriter, research house and (via its Mercury Asset Management subsidiary) asset manager by the early 1990s. At its peak more than half the companies on the FTSE 100 used Mercury Asset Management for investment management purposes. Swiss Bank Corporation acquisition Following another flawed and costly expansion into the United States, in 1994 a merger was announced with Morgan Stanley, but the talks collapsed. The following year S. G. Warburg was purchased by Swiss Bank Corporation. Swiss Bank Corporation merged S. G. Warburg with its own existing investment banking unit to create SBC Warburg, which became a leading player in global investment banking. In 1997, SBC Warburg was merged with U.S. investment bank Dillon, Read & Co. to create Warburg Dillon Read. After the merger of Swiss Bank Corporation and Union Bank of Switzerland in 1998, Warburg Dillon Read was renamed, UBS Warburg. The Warburg name was finally retired in 2003 when the investment banking operation of UBS was renamed UBS Investment Bank. Notable current and former employees Business Thomas Bscher, Former managing director of Bugatti Automobiles SAS Simon Cairns, 6th Earl Cairns, managing director 1979–1985 Michael Cohrs, Member of Court and Financial Policy Committee Bank of England John Cryan, chief financial officer, UBS AG Paul Desmarais, Jr., Co-chief of Power Corporation of Canada Sir Derek Higgs, Chairman of Alliance & Leicester Nicola Horlick, Founder of Bramdean Asset Management Sir Hugh Stevenson, Chairman of Mercury Asset Management (1992-1998), Chairman of Equitas (1998-2009) Ian Wace, CEO of Marshall Wace Peter Wilmot-Sitwell, board member of the Stock Exchange Politics Peter Ainsworth, former Shadow Environment Secretary Robin Budenberg, former Chief executive, UK Financial Investments Korn Chatikavanij, former Finance Minister for Thailand David Freud, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Work and Pensions William Hopper, former Member of the European Parliament Earl Jellicoe, former Lord Privy Seal James Leigh-Pemberton, Chief executive, UK Financial Investments James Sassoon, joined S.G. Warburg in 1985, became a director in 1995 and from 2000 to 2002 served as Vice-Chairman Baroness Vadera, former Minister jointly for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the