More Videos
- Abu Dhabi Will Aid Debt-Fraught Dubai 'Case by Case'
- Banks With The Biggest Exposure to The UAE
- Dubai's Debt Woes Signal New Era for Creditors
- Next Week: Cash In Now Or Wait For A Santa Rally?
- Dubai Stock Selloff May Bring Buying Opportunity
- Longer Lines, Fuller Carts This Black Friday
- Big US Banks May Be Forced to Raise Capital: Bove
- Bank of America Amends Pay for Senior Executives
- Tiger Woods Out of Hospital After Accident
- U.S. Stocks Fall on Dubai Worries
- Black Friday at Best Buy
- Strategists on Dubai: Avoid 'Rash Moves' Now
- Longer Lines, Fuller Carts This Black Friday
- Dubai Stock Market Fear Has 'Legs': Dennis Gartman
- Obama's Emission Reduction Pledge Paints Future for Autos
- Is Super Bowl Halftime Act Too Old?
- Surprising Options Trades in TiVo Shares
- EA Sports Hopes to Pump Up Sales Through Pop-Up Locations
Text Size 
Bear Stearns is actively being shopped to a potential acquirer, and not just to JPMorgan Chase, CNBC has learned.
JP Morgan [JPM
Loading...
()
] is the most likely candidate to buy Bear [BSC
Loading...
()
] right now, considering that the emergency financing from the Fed is being arranged through JP Morgan. But people familiar with the situation say other banks are being approached as well.
Analysts have been speculating for months about a possible acquisition of Bear Stearns, which has been hurt badly by the subprime mortgage crisis. Even so, Bear chief executive Alan Schwartz said in early January that being acquired is not a strategy for the firm.
Read Live Blog From Bear Stearns Conference Call.
But as the credit crisis has increased, so has the possibility of more bank mergers.
Bank of America agreed in January to acquire battered mortgage lender Countrywide Financial [CFC
Loading...
()
] for a knock-down price of $4 billion in stock.
Takeover speculation since then has centered on such banks as Washington Mutual [WM
Loading...
()
], First Horizon National [FHN
Loading...
()
], National City and KeyCorp.
"Transactions happen when times are good and valuations are high and they happen when times are very difficult and you have some forced sellers," said Sean Egan, managing director of independent credit-rating firm Egan-Jones Ratings, said after the Countrywide acquisition.
"Washington Mutual probably heads up the list (of targets) because they have similar problems to Countrywide," said Egan, adding: "Bear Stearns is an obvious candidate for some sort of transaction."
Print
Email
- These four sectors will be the next to lead the market.
- Zhu Zhu Pets are this year's must-have toy, fetching $40 or more on eBay.
- From the why-didn’t-I-think-of-that file, we present Jason Sadler, a man whose job is wearing T-shirts.
- It may be the most unusual guide to business you'll read.
- Shopping for a gadget hound? The choices can be baffling. Here are a few that should be a hit.
- "The Who" will be the halftime act for Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7 in Miami. Is the NFL behind the times?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes