Forbes.com, 17 Oct 2008, Maurna Desmond
After a doozy of a loss, Merrill Lynch isn't looking nearly as attractive as it did when Bank of America agreed to buy the beleaguered investment bank.
Merrill Lynch posted a worse-than-expected $5.2 billion quarterly loss Thursday due to write-downs on soured real estate-related investments and asset sales made at a serious discount. Its core wealth management division also stumbled amid the sharp decline in stocks.
Investors weren't enthused, but its shares gained slightly, rising 0.6%, or 11 cents, to $18.35. Bank of America, (nyse: BAC - news - people ) which recently agreed to buy Merrill, gained 1.8%, or 43 cents, to close at $24.25. The all-stock transaction has an implied price of $19.72 for each Merrill share which is a 11.2% premium to where it currently trades. This gap suggests some doubt that the deal will go through. (See "Why Merrill May Bail On BofA Deal")
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