The Wall Street Journal reports British billionaire Joe Lewis is trying
to amass support among investors looking for an alternative to the JP Morgan
(JPM) takeover. According to Bloomberg, the Bear debacle has cost Lewis $1.19
billion - almost half his net worth. He called the $2 per share offer
"derisory."
Other Bear shareholders, such as hedge fund Thunderstorm Capital and
former Bear chairman Jimmy Cayne, are reportedly teaming up with Lewis to oppose the merger. Cayne is said to have lost almost a billion dollars since Bear's
stock price peaked at $171.51 last year.
Wow, each of these guys lots a billion dollars on that deal? Talk about needing to diversify your portfolio a bit. In the meantime the stock keeps going up. It went from $3.76 to $5.90 in the past two days. This would be the scary part though if I was holding Bear Stock though. So you would either get $2 or nothing. I would have gone with selling at $5.90 and got out while I still could.
On the other hand, fighting the deal in the hopes of a better bid is a
long shot, as the merger was written to preclude counteroffers. Blocking the
deal risks bankruptcy proceedings that could put equity holders at risk of
losing everything.
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