Merrill Lynch being sold + Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy

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George P Burdell

Lifer
Aug 25, 2004
11,151
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I

imported_Lothar

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2006
4,559
1
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Kenneth Lewis' eagle eye sees tasty red meat at bargain prices ready to be scooped up at pennies on the dollar.
 
Blackjack200

Blackjack200

Lifer
May 28, 2007
15,995
1,688
126
Originally posted by: George P Burdell
Bank of America Reaches Deal for Merrill
By MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG, CARRICK MOLLENKAMP and DAN FITZPATRICK
September 15, 2008

In a rushed bid to ride out the storm sweeping American finance, 94-year-old Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed late Sunday to sell itself to Bank of America Corp. for roughly $50 billion, including restricted stock and vested stock options.

The deal, which was being worked out in 48 hours of frenetic negotiating, could instantly reshape the U.S. banking landscape, making the nation's prime behemoth even bigger. The boards of the two companies approved the deal Sunday evening, according to people familiar with the matter.

Driven by Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America has already made dozens of acquisitions large and small, including the purchase of ailing mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. earlier this year. In adding Merrill Lynch, it would control the nation's largest force of stock brokers as well as a well-regarded investment bank.

A combination would create a bank of vast reach, involved in nearly every nook and cranny of the financial system, from credit cards and auto loans to bond and stock underwriting, merger advice and wealth management.

It would also show how the credit crisis has created opportunities for financially sound buyers. At $44 billion, or roughly $29 a share, Merrill would be sold at about two-thirds of its value of one year ago, and half its all-time peak value of early 2007. Merrill shares changed hands at $17.05 each on Friday, after falling sharply in the wake of Lehman's looming demise.
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The FUBARification of our economy continues
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:confused:

$44 billion is not "roughly $50 billion".

If we're actually going to round things to the nearest ten billion dollars, it would be "roughly $40 billion"
 
mugs

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: Blackjack200
Originally posted by: George P Burdell
Bank of America Reaches Deal for Merrill
By MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG, CARRICK MOLLENKAMP and DAN FITZPATRICK
September 15, 2008

In a rushed bid to ride out the storm sweeping American finance, 94-year-old Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed late Sunday to sell itself to Bank of America Corp. for roughly $50 billion, including restricted stock and vested stock options.

The deal, which was being worked out in 48 hours of frenetic negotiating, could instantly reshape the U.S. banking landscape, making the nation's prime behemoth even bigger. The boards of the two companies approved the deal Sunday evening, according to people familiar with the matter.

Driven by Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America has already made dozens of acquisitions large and small, including the purchase of ailing mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. earlier this year. In adding Merrill Lynch, it would control the nation's largest force of stock brokers as well as a well-regarded investment bank.

A combination would create a bank of vast reach, involved in nearly every nook and cranny of the financial system, from credit cards and auto loans to bond and stock underwriting, merger advice and wealth management.

It would also show how the credit crisis has created opportunities for financially sound buyers. At $44 billion, or roughly $29 a share, Merrill would be sold at about two-thirds of its value of one year ago, and half its all-time peak value of early 2007. Merrill shares changed hands at $17.05 each on Friday, after falling sharply in the wake of Lehman's looming demise.
Click to expand...

The FUBARification of our economy continues
Click to expand...

:confused:

$44 billion is not "roughly $50 billion".

If we're actually going to round things to the nearest ten billion dollars, it would be "roughly $40 billion"
Click to expand...

Apparently they rounded to the nearest fifty billion dollars.
 
I

imported_Lothar

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2006
4,559
1
0
I'm still wondering how exactly they were able to probe Merrill's books and come up with a $29/share decision in less than 48hrs.

All they had to do was wait a few days more and they'd be able to buy Merrill for $15/share rather than overpaying $29/share for it.
There's no need to act like an angel in preventing a financial collapse if you can pay pennies for it.

I expect a BAC dividend cut pretty soon. This merger will seriously dilute current BAC shareholders in the short term, but it will prove valuable since Merrill has one of the best brokerage in the industry.
 
I

ICRS

Banned
Apr 20, 2008
1,328
0
0
We have billions of dollars in out the money swaps with Lehman brothers where I work. Wonder how this will affect us.
 
I

imported_Lothar

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2006
4,559
1
0
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: Lothar
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: Baked
BofA FTW!
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too bad their customer services sucks a big one :(
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Not to me.
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They rank worse than comcast and verizon for me. And the latter two definitely are not nice cookies either.
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I've had ZERO problems with Verizon.
FiOS customer here.
 
jpeyton

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
142
116
AIG is trying to secure $40 billion from The Fed in a financing package tonight. If they don't get it, they're going to join Lehman very soon.
 
N

nageov3t

Lifer
Feb 18, 2004
42,808
83
91
crossing my fingers that Goldman Sachs makes it out of this relatively unscathed, my stock options are riding on it
rose.gif
 
her209

her209

No Lifer
Oct 11, 2000
56,336
11
0
I have NEVER EVER had a problem with Bank of America customer service. BoA member since 1997.
 
jpeyton

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
142
116
Originally posted by: her209
I have NEVER EVER had a problem with Bank of America customer service. BoA member since 1997.
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Same here, and their new ATMs kick ass.
 
Fritzo

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
2,161
126
Actually, this is a good day to buy stocks. Companies that have nothing to do with banking- pharm, auto, manufacturing, etc and probably going to be down too. Buy low, sell high!
 
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