Salomon Bros. in Pact With Fidelity

Salomon Bros. Inc. said it formed an alliance with Fidelity Investments, allowing customers of Fidelity’s discount brokerage unit to buy as much as 10% of the shares in public offerings Salomon arranges. The agreement also permits the discount brokerage unit to distribute Salomon’s stock research to its clients. The agreement comes as Salomon expands its equity underwriting business, growing to the sixth-biggest equity underwriter in 1996 from the 10th spot in 1995, according to Securities Data Co. The alliance, which is mutually exclusive for three years, blurs the line between full-service brokerages, like Merrill Lynch & Co., and discount brokerages like Fidelity, which charge less because the offer no research or advice and don’t underwrite securities.