JPMorgan bids for Bear Stearns and Raises Bear Stearns Offer
JPMorgan bids for Bear Stearns and Raises Bear Stearns Offer
Well. According to Reuters and other sources, JPMorgan is readying to quintuple its bid for Bear Stearns, from $2 a share to $10. This should make crybaby shareholders like Jimmy Cayne and British billionaire Joseph C. Lewis — who said last week that he’d block a sale at that price “by any means necessary” — happy, but it does put the Fed in a pickle. While they could justify a $2 bailout price as rescue tinged with punishment — much like parents might ground a hard-drinking teenager after taking him to the hospital to get his stomach pumped — if they back a deal with a higher share price, it could just look like, well, a bailout. As of last night, the Fed was balking. As of this morning, Bear stock had gone up 65 percent in anticipation of a deal. Your move, Bernanke.
JPMorgan to raise offer for Bear Stearns: Report [Reuters]
UPDATE: It’s official: JPMorgan has upped its bid to $10 a share, and the Fed has gone along with it on the same terms. Guess they’re not as strict as our parents.
JPMorgan bids for Bear Stearns and Raises Bear Stearns Offer