Article: Acquisition of Citi unit derailing Legg Mason; Stock price victimized by integration snafu.(News)

Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr.

BOSTON - Legg Mason Inc.'s recent acquisition binge has Wall Street worried.

Since exchanging its broker-dealer operations for Citigroup Inc.'s global-asset-management business in December in a deal worth $3.7 billion, Legg Mason has put its shareholders through a wild and woolly ride that some say could get worse before it gets better.

Legg Mason's stock, which closed Wednesday at $97.25, was down 18.6% year-to-date and off 28.6% from a 52-week high of $136.21 in February. That year-to-date performance is one of the worst among publicly traded asset managers, according to Morningstar Inc. in Chicago.

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