NEW YORK — Bear Stearns shareholders are likely to try to stop JPMorgan from snapping up their company for just roughly $2 a share. But any opposition may be in vain.
“Basically everyone is angry and upset,” said Rob Sloan, head of the financial services practice group at Egon Zehnd er. Because of that, shareholders are likely to fight the deal, he said.
“If they vote to fight, the business is so decomposed, it’s not really worth anything anyway,” Sloan said. “There’s really no options” but to accept the current price.
On Sunday, Bear Stearns Cos. agreed to sell itself to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for about $2 a share — or less than $250 million — a price some analysts speculate is well below the value of Bear Stearns’ assets. Because of a two-day jump in JPMorgan shares, Bear Stearns shares are valued at $2.34 under terms of the deal.
The company’s headquarters in Manhattan is said to be worth more than $1 billion. The stock closed Tuesday at $5.91, well above the deal price.
The perceived lack of fair value is likely to spawn lawsuits.
Sloan said uncertainty about the value of certain securities in Bear’s portfolio makes the company’s actual value a mystery.
