It's amazing how quickly this story about the Bank of America acquisition of Merrill is happening. DealBook has some details:
Bank of America is in advanced talks to buy Merrill Lynch for at least $38.25 billion in stock, people briefed on the negotiations said on Sunday, as a means to preserve that investment bank while Lehman Brothers looks likely to collapse.The move suggests a desperate effort at triage on Wall Street, as Bank of America works to shore up the likely next victim of the credit crunch. A deal, valued at between $25 a share to $30 a share, could be announced as soon as Sunday night, these people said. Merrill shares closed at $17.05 on Friday.
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:30PM
Another commenter brought up a good question - Does this turn BAC into C instead of JPM?
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:30PM
Lots of action on Wall Street today. I'm sure there will a few cocktails served later tonight when the smoke clears.
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:31PM
Ah, genius, aren't you and the NYT assuming that entire alleged $38.25B goes to the common shareholders?
Assuming a deal happens, dont be shocked if the preferred and sub debt receive BAC stock leaving much less than $25-$30/share for the common....
Great reporting.
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:31PM
Ah, genius, aren't you and the NYT assuming that entire alleged $38.25B goes to the common shareholders?
Assuming a deal happens, dont be shocked if the preferred and sub debt receive BAC stock leaving much less than $25-$30/share for the common....
Great reporting.
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:31PM
Ah, genius, aren't you and the NYT assuming that entire alleged $38.25B goes to the common shareholders?
Assuming a deal happens, dont be shocked if the preferred and sub debt receive BAC stock leaving much less than $25-$30/share for the common....
Great reporting.
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:34PM
Any thoughts on what they would do to MER's employees post deal?
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:34PM
BoA pulls out: http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUSWAT01004120080914?feedType=RSS&feedName=innovationNews&rpc=22&sp=true
why is drudge of all places scooping dealbreaker?
$$$
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:38PM
@ 6... they may need to get real jobs...
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:39PM
@7
I pity you.
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:39PM
Glad to see someone named lindsaycampbell is following the DB twitter feed.
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:40PM
nevermind, my reading comprehension is horrible.
$$$
Posted by daytraitor , Sep 14, 2008 5:40PM
@6
redundancies and mediocrities will get canned, but hopefully smaller numbers than if MER went out LEH style. Thain is doing what Fuld should have when he still had time.
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:46PM
Can someone explain what all these will affect the bond insurers say Ambac and MBIA?
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:47PM
Wall Street employees are in for a further freefall...with BofA scooping up Merrill and Lehman liquidating in chapter 7 (Barclays will probably buy the assets in chapter, and leave behind liabilities)...the redundancies are going to be massive...and the survivors will get doughnuts for bonuses, but feel lucky to have a seat.
Posted by beentheredonethat , Sep 14, 2008 5:49PM
@12
You got that right. If you looked closely at the photos published this weekend, Thain looked positively nauseous, knowing he would be in Fuld's position in less than a weeks time. I sure he proposed that deal first thing Friday night. I give him a great deal of credit for getting the price he got. If they offered $20 bucks and not a penny more, he would have had to take it, knowing MER could have traded below 10 bucks on Monday morning during the liquidation of LEH. He did a righteous job of getting out of a fucking mess. Of course, he's no longer independent, but he is alive......
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:56PM
But what about #4's point. Was the Times incorrect attributing the entire $38bn to the common?
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 5:57PM
the price is not $25 to $30 for the common...
the $38B includes the preferreds..
i would expect the price for the common shares to be around $15...mark it down...
$20 would be outstanding for shareholders...
but BAC stock will fall on this deal because of the fear that they will become like citigroup as they choke on merrill's bad assets...
so i would expect merrill to trade tomorrow at 20 or less...
i think we will hear more about numbers soon...
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 6:00PM
BOA/MER merger will be announced before LEH bankruptcy, thats the way to limit the fallout
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 6:01PM
for those interested, bankofamericamerrilllynch.com is now for sale.
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 6:02PM
ml is not quite a forced sale but the price seems high.
great deal for b.of.a which ever way you cut it.
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 6:02PM
ml is not quite a forced sale but the price seems high.
great deal for b.of.a which ever way you cut it.
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 6:02PM
ml is not quite a forced sale but the price seems high.
great deal for b.of.a which ever way you cut it.
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 6:02PM
ml is not quite a forced sale but the price seems high.
great deal for b.of.a which ever way you cut it.
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 6:13PM
were will the stock open?
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 6:16PM
why would they pay more than the stock is tradeing for? why not let it tank after the leh deal and buy it cheaper
Posted by daytraitor , Sep 14, 2008 6:32PM
@24
pennies.
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 6:46PM
more poker from bofa..this is bluff in relation to lehman
Posted by guest , Sep 14, 2008 7:17PM
What happens to the offer from MER? Does it get rescinded? Do I still join the firm? Would really appreciate some feedback.