メリルリンチを バンク・オブ・アメリカが買収

　米ＣＮＢＣは１４日、米紙ウォールストリート・ジャーナル（ＷＳＪ）を引用し、米大手銀行のバンク・オブ・アメリカ（注）(BAC.N: 株価, 企業情報, レポート)がメリルリンチ(MER.N: 株価, 企業情報, レポート)を１株２９ドルで買収すると報じた。

（注）

バンク・オブ・アメリカ・コープ社は1998年、ネーションズ・バンク社とバンク・アメリカ社の合併によって生まれた。バンク・オブ・アメリカの最も先駆けであるコマーシャル・ナショナル・バンク (CNB) は、1874年シャーロットで商業銀行として開店される。1957年、シャーロットを本拠としたアメリカの信託会社を買収した後のCNBの総資産は2億3400万ドルに上り、アメリカン・コマーシャル・バンク (ACB)を作る 。1960年、シャーロットを本拠としたセキュリティ・ナショナル・バンクを買収の後、ACBはノース・カロライナ・ナショナル・バンク (NCNB) に名称を変更。

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp willo acquire Merrill Lynch & Co Inc for $29 a share, a deal that will give the bank the world's largest brokerage and a sizable investment bank, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday

The deal comes as bankers and regulators met in New York to figure out whether to rescue Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, and if so, how. Those talks seemed increasingly likely to result in Lehman's liquidation.

A Merrill Lynch spokeswoman declined comment and a Bank of America spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

Merrill, stuck with some of the same toxic debt -- much of it mortgage-related -- which torpedoed Lehman's balance sheet, has been hit hard by the credit crisis and has written down more than $40 billion over the last year.

Last month, Thain arranged to sell over $30 billion in repackaged debt securities to Dallas-based private equity firm Lone Star Funds.

"I'm surprised that Merrill Lynch would want to sell at this point," said Bill Fitzpatrick, an analyst at Optique Capital in Milwaukee.

"They seem to be taking steps to improve their business. They have sold off a lot of their toxic assets. Merrill seems to be progressing to me."

In spite of these exposures, the bank is seen by some as undervalued, in part because of its massive brokerage business, which analysts have said is worth more than $25 billion. The brokerage is the largest in the world by assets under management and number of brokers. Continued...

Merrill also has about a 45 percent stake in the profitable asset manager BlackRock Inc, worth more than $10 billion.

"It could be a powerful fit," said Rick Meckler, chief investment officer at LibertyView Capital Management in New York. But he added: "Merrill Lynch has significant exposures and Bank of America would need enough balance sheet to handle that."

DUE DILIGENCE

Meckler also noted that the due diligence Bank of America would need to do on Merrill's books would be a serious undertaking, given the complexity of the company's exposure to mortgage-related securities and other complex debt.

With the brokerage and the BlackRock shares worth more than $35 billion combined, and Merrill's market capitalization at around $26 billion, investors are ascribing a negative value to the investment bank, implying huge potential embedded losses.

On the other hand, it would not be the first time Bank of America has done a quick acquisition. In 2005, the bank bought credit card company MBNA after less than a week of due diligence, with Lewis saying the company was comfortable with the acquisition because it knew the people and business well.

Bank of America under Lewis has in fact become renowned for large acquisitions and it has spent over $100 billion since 2004 buying other companies.

Most recently it acquired troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp and -- although many were skeptical about this purchase -- veteran analyst Dick Bove said last week the takeover could prove to be a master stroke by Lewis, since the government takeover of mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could fuel business for other lenders.

出典：Reuters

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