I just heard on KPOJ radio that B of A is acquiring Merrill Lynch!

[napi21]

I know B of A is a BIG BANK, but they just bought Countrywide, which was no small fish! At what point does all these acquisitions put B of A in jeopardy? I've never dealt with them, because I've always been much happier with the small local bank, but this new move sounds very risky to me.

[meegbear]

1. Its been in the news cycle for a few hours now ...

the BBC was reporting it as one of their top stories.

[lligrd]

2. I Asked A Similar Question Earlier

Why in the world is BOA taking on more debt when they already had so much of their own? Glad they are not my bank.

[napi21]

3. The only thing I can imagine is that the deal they got on Merrill

was a fireslae rate, and if they have the assets to pull it off, they believe it was a great deal. I haven';t heard anything about the deal, but apparently Merrill was pretty desperate. I wish B OF A luck, but I wouldn't put any of my pennies there. (Not that they would GAS! My $$ are so small, all I have really is my thoughts & words.)

[tekisui]

5. I read that BoA got Merrill for $44 million.

[napi21]

9. THAT'S ALL? DAMN! I'm surprised Trump didn't jump on that one! n/t

[tekisui]

11. I gave you the wrong numbers, it was about $50 BILLION.

Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. consumer bank, agreed to acquire Merrill Lynch & Co. for about $50 billion as the credit crisis claimed another of America's oldest financial companies.

Bank of America will pay $29 a share for New York-based Merrill in stock, 70 percent more than the Sept. 12 closing price, the company said in a statement today. Merrill, battered by $52.2 billion in losses and writedowns from subprime-mortgage- contaminated securities, has plunged more than 80 percent from its peak of $97.53 at the start of last year.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a9O9JGOLdI_U&refer=home

[lligrd]

8. Heard They Paid More Than What It Was Worth

which really doesn't make sense (at least to me).

[napi21]

10. If they only paid $44 million, I don't believe they paid too much. n/t

[lligrd]

12. I Read Earlier On A Very Reputable Source (DU)

that they paid $28 a share worth $17 a share.

[tekisui]

13. It ended up being near $44-50 Billion total.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a9O9JGOLdI_U&refer=home

[handmaid99]

4. B of A aquires Merrill Lynch

:yoiks:

Sad to say my mortgage is with Countrywide.

[napi21]

7. SAD? As long as you're paying it, you're an asset! Why are you sad?

All this really doesn't affect you at all.

[NikolaC]

6. I Banked With BOA for Several Years

and also had a credit card through them. They were horrible during the last two years that I banked with them. I closed my account, paid off and closed my credit card with them in 2007 because of their shady practices and some other issues with their fees. Unfortunately, Countrywide has our home loan and we are back under BOAs thumb again. I get the feeling that BOA will not stop until they buy up most of the financial institutions in this country at bargain basement prices. It's a frightening concept and makes me want to hope for some kind of regulation and soon.