Ahead of the Bell: Bank of America-Merrill vote

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Shareholders of Bank of America Corp. and Merrill Lynch & Co. will vote on the combination of the companies Friday morning.

Once the deal closes — which should happen in the first quarter of 2009 — it will create the nation's largest financial services company.

The vote for Merrill shareholders will come at a meeting starting at 8 a.m. EST in New York. Bank of America shareholders will vote at a meeting in Charlotte, N.C., staring at 11 a.m. EST.

Bank of America, headquartered in Charlotte, announced in September it would purchase Merrill for $50 billion, just as rival firm Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy. There was concern among investors that the stand-alone investment bank model would not be able to survive the ongoing credit crisis.

The value of the all-stock merger had fallen by Thursday to about $20 billion, based on Bank of America's closing price of $14.34.

Shareholders of both companies are expected to approve the deal.

Bank of America has the most deposits of any U.S. bank, while Merrill Lynch is the world's largest brokerage.

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