Fortune has learned from a New York Times source and others close to the matter that the Ochs-Sulzberger family recently put in a request to pull the majority of its assets from the bank. ( Morgan Stanley ( Charts ) had been the longtime custodian of the family's assets, including its stake in the Times company - which, based on recent share prices, is worth close to $640 million.) Elmasry is in charge of Morgan Stanley's American and Global Franchise Strategies Portfolio, an $11.5 billion investment fund that owns about 7.6 percent of the Times' nonvoting shares. The stock, now around $24, is down nearly 40 percent over the past two years. His response: a proposal that the company eliminate its dual shareholder structure, which he believes fails to provide adequate oversight of management.

Full story first reported on CNNMoney.com and is available at:

http://money.cnn.com/2007/02 /02/news/companies/sulzberger _morgan.fortune/index.htm ?postversion=2007020210