Where the fuck is HARBINGER?????
Hope BGOL is seeing what is happening right now with Bear Stearn
Bear races to forge deal with JPMorgan
By Francesco Guerrera in New York and Henny Sender in Abu Dhabi
Published: March 16 2008 18:03 | Last updated: March 16 2008 18:54
Bear Stearns, the stricken US investment bank, was this weekend fighting against the clock on a deal to sell itself to JPMorgan Chase, amid growing concerns that failure to clinch an agreement by Monday morning could put other banks under severe strain.
The Federal Reserve, which on Friday provided emergency funds to Bear, and the Treasury are watching the situation closely. The authorities fear that, unless the crisis is resolved promptly, traders may turn their sights on other US and European banks.
“The Fed is most nervous about the systemic risk,” said one senior executive at Bear, the fifth largest investment bank in the US. “The government needs to stabilise the financial system.”
Hank Paulson, Treasury secretary, on Sunday sought to allay fears that the crisis of confidence that hit Bear - which was undone by clients’ rush to withdraw funds amid rumours over its financial health - would spread to the rest of the financial sector. “The government is prepared to do what it takes to maintain the stability of our financial system,” he said. “That’s our priority.”
People close to the situation said that senior executives at Bear and JPMorgan, which is acting as a go-between for the Fed funds, had been locked in talks over a deal since Friday. “We’re definitely in the mix,” a senior person at JPMorgan said.
With Bear’s shares sharply lower and its liabilities unknown, JPMorgan could end up paying very little to acquire the firm. Bear’s market value has plunged to just $3.5bn from a peak close to $20bn in January last year, largely because of frenzied selling of its shares in the past week.
The value of Bear’s head office in a prime location on Madison Avenue, near JPMorgan’s offices, may account for a big portion of the eventual sale price.
JPMorgan has been contacting clients to inform them of the coming consolidation. An exec-utive in its private banking side told one client that the private bank had taken control of $150m in assets of Bear’s clients.
A deal is complicated by the fact that JPMorgan is believed to be interested in only some of Bear’s businesses, such as the mortgage business and the prime brokerage unit, and does not want other divisions, such as the investment bank.
Other groups, including JC Flowers, the private equity firm that worked with JPMorgan on an abortive bid for the student loan group Sallie Mae, are believed to be looking at taking over some of Bear’s businesses.
But people close to the situation said the need to agree a speedy deal made an orderly break-up of Bear among different bidders difficult, and it was more likely the firm would be acquired as a whole and split later.
Other bidders that had been rumoured to be interested in Bear, such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays Capital in the UK, and Citadel, the US hedge fund, are not believed to be talking to the company at present.
Bear, JPMorgan, JC Flowers, Citadel, RBS and Barclays Capital all declined to comment.
It's going down right now..................
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e2206ed2-f3...uid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html
Hope BGOL is seeing what is happening right now with Bear Stearn
Bear races to forge deal with JPMorgan
By Francesco Guerrera in New York and Henny Sender in Abu Dhabi
Published: March 16 2008 18:03 | Last updated: March 16 2008 18:54
Bear Stearns, the stricken US investment bank, was this weekend fighting against the clock on a deal to sell itself to JPMorgan Chase, amid growing concerns that failure to clinch an agreement by Monday morning could put other banks under severe strain.
The Federal Reserve, which on Friday provided emergency funds to Bear, and the Treasury are watching the situation closely. The authorities fear that, unless the crisis is resolved promptly, traders may turn their sights on other US and European banks.
“The Fed is most nervous about the systemic risk,” said one senior executive at Bear, the fifth largest investment bank in the US. “The government needs to stabilise the financial system.”
Hank Paulson, Treasury secretary, on Sunday sought to allay fears that the crisis of confidence that hit Bear - which was undone by clients’ rush to withdraw funds amid rumours over its financial health - would spread to the rest of the financial sector. “The government is prepared to do what it takes to maintain the stability of our financial system,” he said. “That’s our priority.”
People close to the situation said that senior executives at Bear and JPMorgan, which is acting as a go-between for the Fed funds, had been locked in talks over a deal since Friday. “We’re definitely in the mix,” a senior person at JPMorgan said.
With Bear’s shares sharply lower and its liabilities unknown, JPMorgan could end up paying very little to acquire the firm. Bear’s market value has plunged to just $3.5bn from a peak close to $20bn in January last year, largely because of frenzied selling of its shares in the past week.
The value of Bear’s head office in a prime location on Madison Avenue, near JPMorgan’s offices, may account for a big portion of the eventual sale price.
JPMorgan has been contacting clients to inform them of the coming consolidation. An exec-utive in its private banking side told one client that the private bank had taken control of $150m in assets of Bear’s clients.
A deal is complicated by the fact that JPMorgan is believed to be interested in only some of Bear’s businesses, such as the mortgage business and the prime brokerage unit, and does not want other divisions, such as the investment bank.
Other groups, including JC Flowers, the private equity firm that worked with JPMorgan on an abortive bid for the student loan group Sallie Mae, are believed to be looking at taking over some of Bear’s businesses.
But people close to the situation said the need to agree a speedy deal made an orderly break-up of Bear among different bidders difficult, and it was more likely the firm would be acquired as a whole and split later.
Other bidders that had been rumoured to be interested in Bear, such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays Capital in the UK, and Citadel, the US hedge fund, are not believed to be talking to the company at present.
Bear, JPMorgan, JC Flowers, Citadel, RBS and Barclays Capital all declined to comment.
It's going down right now..................
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e2206ed2-f3...uid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html
