JPMorgan Plunders Bear Stearns

I was absolutely shocked to see the headline; Bear Stearns bought out at $2 per share.

Prior to the news release, the low estimate of merger-price speculation was at $15/share, a discount of 50% from Friday's closing price. Many analysts expected Bear to fetch more than the $30 closing price from a potential suitor.

I do not understand how Bear's board members sold themselves out for $2/share, or $236 million. The value of their headquarters was estimated to be $12/share by Barron's - why would the board sell out to an offer so far below the value of Bear's tangible assets?

I guess there may be some ghosts on the balance sheet, but I am honestly dumbfounded by the $2 price. I wish I could say I did not own BSC (or was short), but unfortunately, I bought a few share on Friday as I thought that the buyout would be for more than peanuts.

Hopefully another bidder comes along, as it appears as though Bear is a steal at this level. Also, the deal is subject to shareholder approval; considering that employees own an estimated 1/3 of the company, I don't see all of those people losing much of their nest eggs without a fight.

In other news, the Fed also cut the discount window.

As the shockwaves from both events hit investors, futures plummeted. All major indexes are now looking to fall at least 1% tomorrow.

Who wins? It's hard to say. It looks as though shareholders of any US stock will lose tomorrow, and certainly, the evaporation of billions of dollars of BSC will not help millions of investors' portfolios.

As my title suggests, it looks like JPMorgan has stolen itself a building, a clearing house, and many other businesses for far less than the market was valuing them at. Though I'll only get one share of JPMorgan from my BSC, I may look to add more as this may provide very lucrative once cooler heads prevail.


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