JPMorgan Raises Bear Stearns Bid to $10/Share

[DeepModem Mom]

Source: NYT/Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co said on Monday that it raised its all-stock offer for Bear Stearns Cos to about $10 a share, roughly five times its original offer. Under the revised terms of the deal, each share of Bear Stearns common stock will be exchanged for 0.21753 shares of JPMorgan common stock.

JPMorgan will also purchase 95 million new Bear Stearns shares, representing 39.5 percent of the investment bank's outstanding common stock. JPMorgan is buying the shares at the same price as its takeover offer and expects to complete the deal by April 8.

The boards of both companies have approved the revised takeover offer and the share purchase agreement.

JPMorgan's original agreement on March 16 to pay $2 per share in stock for Bear was widely considered a fire-sale price for the 85-year-old Wall Street investment bank. Bear collapsed as large subprime mortgage losses and falling confidence in the company prompted a run on the bank.

Bear shares surged more than 65 percent to $10.60 on the news of the higher bid.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-bearstearns.html

[BeyondGeography]

1. It was $170/share a year ago

[Robbien]

2. It was $170 a year ago based on a bad business model

So taxpayer dollars are being expected to be used to make shareholders of this dog feel better.

[BeyondGeography]

3. I was happier with the $2 price

1/85th of nothing as opposed to 1/17th was more like it. They were going to wind up on court for years, however, at the lower price.

[Robbien]

4. But going to court would be on JPMorgans shoulders, not ours.

This sucks. The largest shareholder, Lewis, is a multi-billionaire.

[BeyondGeography]

6. Welfare capitalism has been sucking since 1980

It won't end without an actual public discussion of the facts, but we're too busy with Rev. Wright and other pressing matters right now.

[MercutioATC]

5. Gee, tell me the original lowball offer wasn't to give a chance to let SOME people buy BSC cheap...

Maneuvers like this only used to happen in the pinks...now it's blue chips.

scary stuff

[Adams Wulff]

7. Here's my problem with this...

Bear Stearns closes on Friday at 70.00 per share. By Sunday, it's worthless.

Monday we hear that the Fed's and J.P.Morgan are going to bail them out at $2 per share.

On Tuesday, Bear Stearns stock is trading at $5 per share

:wtf:

Today we learn that J.P. Morgan is upping the price to$10 per share.

Now it all makes sense. Somebody made a nice killing in a week.

Somebody who knew.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. It does smell a bit

When the $2 news came out, it was reported as if it was a done deal, not an opening bid, or an estimate of some valuation process that would be officially fixed later.

[couriousg]

13. I agree

I thought BS was a done deal also. I can't believe how much Wall Street manipulates the market!
The DOW should be around 10,000 by now, but it's hanging at 12400 now! I don't know where to put my money, I did pretty well at first, but now I lose a few bucks, gain a few bucks. The FED needs to just let it go and let market correct it's self. No one is getting ahead in this market, the bull or the bears! Offense or Defense??

[pokercat999]

15. The dice table would be a place where "rates of return"

are guaranteed over the long run. The house will only take 1.71% vig on the pass line and 1.41% vig on the don't pass line. If you take or lay free odds you can cut these percentages to less than 1%. Of course you may just win. If you do, I'd take the money and run as re-investment isn't recommended.

[Javaman]

11. Of course they did. you must remember, we live in bush*world now.

nothing happens in a vacuum.

[fedsron2us]

9. Why should JPM worry about a mere $1 billion when they have $ 30 billion of Fed money

to underwrite their takeover of BSC. They can easily afford to dish out the cash in order to get BSC share holders to rubber stamp the deal. The question is whether such a public funded bail out is legal, particularly if it rescues the stock holders who in normal circumstances would face a wipe out in bankruptcy. Some think not

http://www.hussmanfunds.com/wmc/wmc080324.htm
http://market-ticker.denninger.net/2008/03/articles-of-impeachment-bear-stearns.html

You know something is rotten when even some conservatives think it stinks.

It is crony capitalism at its worst where only the little people have to suffer the consequences of their actions.

[NM Independent]

10. Does anyone know...

...the annual operating budget of the "welfare" system?

How much would that $30bn corporate welfare bailout do for the little man?

[couriousg]

14. The "little man" has enough welfare!

Sorry, can't feel sorry for those people. If you don't know what you can and can't afford each month, then you need to rent. Let's see..I bring home 1,000 a month, and my mortgage is 1,400 a
month, but it won't become 1600 a month for another 3 years..umm...I'll take it!!
Ridiculous!

[dysfunctional press]

12. as long as it's taxpayer money, why not multiply the bid by 10 instead of 5...?

we need to start building guillotines...LOTS of them...SOON.