The MER insiders haven't finished selling yet so the BOA can't cancel their bid yet... the timing isn't right.
Call me crazy but I have believed right from the begining that the whole deal was a sham. I think the deal was just a 'safe harbor' deal for MER. A way to give them cover during the panic shit storm. They knew they were in the market's sights and rather than just sit there and try and defend themselves they cooked a deal with BAC to get them out of open waters and reduce scrutiny. They picked a premium price, did an all stock deal, and got a guarantee from Paulson (both parties BAC and MER). That way MER more or less got it self out of harms way, didn't freak out the shareholders because they got a premium, all the while giving the gov't time to get a plan together without having to deal with another major IB failing. BAC got a deal from the gov't that 'backstopped' things so that they wouldn't get fucked. Then the next part of the puzzle of course is that after things calmed down there would be a break-up of the deal, BAC would get a big fat break-up fee (really just protection money) and MER would come out from under the umbrella and remain independent. I mean honestly, given how hastily the deal was thrown together, paying a premium, with so little detail. Shit, when Thain was asked where he would fit into the deal he more or less shrugged and said, he really wasn't sure. If you look at the stock, didn't really seem like the market bought the whole thing never really traded anywhere near the deal price. Obviously a little hard to judge because it is a stock deal rather than cash. Of course no one ever antcipated things would get as nasty as they have. Just a theory. One of the wasteful things I do with my grey matter in between trades.
heh, heh. More stuff we don't know. Remember back in March, Fuld knew he was next? He offered proof Bear was screwed over. Only place he could have got it that quickly was his own traders. Mack and Thain knew they were going down. Imagine that. Now, was it just naked short sellers? Well, that is certainly part of the plan, and the one that pays the best. Kill the equity, and no way these guys come up for air. Now, that the shorts are stymied from raiding the companies, Thain could pull away and do a cap raise. But there is a big boogie man out there we don't see. Thain and Mack do. What is it? They must still believe they need that depositor base. I did enjoy the paradeof short assholes on CNBC today. Cnbc has dug in with them like MSNBC has w/O'bama. I think they cooked their own geeses. my take is, you wanna short? Great. Here is what you do. And what you don't do. You borrow first. The acts of 33 and 34 spell out filings and all that. You don't get to do your own secondaries. You don't bribe the press to print what you want. You don't dictate research to analysts. You do like the rest of us. You wait for your hypothesis to work it's way out - or not. then, the government wouldn't be forced into these messes by your making. The Government is inept and corrupt enough to cause their own problems. They don't need to clean up after you, too. Remember this. The Feds are crawling all over the BSC guys, the SEC have subpoenas all over the place, and this time, they won't sit on the discovery. there is a tremendous amount of hell to pay. Let me ask you guys working out o the house this. Are you noticing your neighbors coming to you with queried looks asking you things like . "are you sleeping with my wife?" and "what the hell is going on?" It is amazing now how finally the sheep, being sheared for all these years, are starting to bleat. ( I'm too tired to see if it's 'bleat' or 'bleet'. Just know it's that funny noise sheep make. You Montana guys know what I mean. Like when you 'help' them over the fence. Tis a different time in deed. And my friends and I, maybe there are eight of us, Patrick being one, take absolutely no joy in this at all. And the majority of our baloney brigade think it's too late. We will visit the precipe again.