Bear Stearns Sells Itself to J.P. Morgan

Bear Stearns, after facing a steep decline in its stock due to its heavy investiture in mortgage markets, worked out a deal to sell itself to JP Morgan Chase on Sunday, March 16, 2008. The two companies, worried that Bear Stearns' collapse could destabilize financial markets, had arranged to complete the deal before markets opened on Monday, March 17. Additionally, a red herring was dispatched on Friday, March 14 -- the last day of trading before the announcement of the deal -- when Bear Stearns executives held a widely-reported conference call and denied "rumors" of the company's insolvency. Bear Stearns sold for $2/share, a staggering decline from its Friday valuation of about $30/share. Although JP Morgan has claimed not to be interested in all of Bear Stearns' businesses, it has been reported that the need to quickly complete the deal led it to acquire the company in its entirety. It is possible that JP Morgan will sell off unwanted departments. The federal government has given the necessary approval for the deal to go through, and will guarantee up to $30 billion of Bear Stearns' non-liquid assets. If the deal had not proceeded, Bear Stearns would almost certainly have had to file for bankruptcy, as the repercussions of the mortgage crisis made its survival as an independent business impossible.

Fast Facts:

1. Bear Stearns was 5th-largest investment bank in the United States
2. JP Morgan will now guarantee Bear Stearns' trading obligations
3. Federal Reserve and JP Morgan provided emergency funds to Bear Stearns on Friday, March 14, 2008, after its stock drop
4. Bear Stearns market value on Friday, March 14, 2008: approximately $3.5 billion
5. Bear Stearns sold for $236.2 million, which comes to $2/share
6. Bear Stearns employees own 30% of company
7. Other potential buyers included:
   • JC Flowers
   • Citadel
   • Royal Bank of Scotland
   • Barclays Capital

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