People close to the firm said the trading operations were still in the black.

But according to the person close to the firm, a number of independent director have apparently been willing to hear out individual dissidents.

Sources close to the firm said, however, that it was still a long way off from agreeing to a settlement.

But his son Chris, a trader, is missing, according to people close to the firm.

People close to the firm said that 2,800 to 3,200 positions at Merrill would be eliminated.

By about a margin of two and a half to one, the limited partners chose to take stock, people close to the firm said.

"Two or three guys came in late this morning, talked to him and then they all left," a source close to the firm said yesterday.

The firm's partners each take home in the neighborhood of $50 million a year, according to people close to the firm.

The most senior executives would see their share holdings reach $150 million, people close to the firm have estimated.

Last year, the investment-banking group lost nearly $1 billion, people close to the firm say.