Bear Stearns Implodes

Man, talk about a fire sale. Bloomberg (11.16.08):

"JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to buy Bear Stearns Cos. for about $240 million, less than a 10th of its value last week, after a run on the company ended 85 years of independence for Wall Street's fifth-largest securities firm.

Shareholders of New York-based Bear Stearns will get stock in JPMorgan equivalent to about $2 a share, compared with $30 at the close on March 14, the two companies said in a statement today."

JPMorgan Chase Buys Bear Stearns for $240 Million

It was either this or bankruptcy, "as clients pulled $17 billion in two days last week and creditors stopped renewing loans."

And it's gonna hurt. Wall Street Journal (03.17.08):

Many well-known investors, from billionaire Joe Lewis to Bruce Sherman, the head of Legg Mason Inc.'s Private Capital Management Inc. money-management firm, have seen the value of their stakes in Bear Stearns plummet.

The pain could be most acute for Bear Stearns's employees, who are steeped in a culture of personal ownership -- and hold about a third of the firm's shares outstanding."

J.P. Morgan Rescues Bear Stearns

Thanks again folks. It's been real.

And Jimmy? Hell, he could give a shit.

Who's next?