JPMorgan buys Bear Stearns for $2 a share

By Francesco Guerrera in New York and Henny Sender in Abu Dhabi

Published: March 16 2008 18:03 | Last updated: March 16 2008 23:29

JPMorgan Chase on Sunday night agreed to buy Bear Stearns, the stricken US investment bank, for around $236m in shares in a deal that puts an end to Bear’s 85 years of independence and highlights the serious risks faced by banks during the credit crunch.

JPMorgan’s cut-price takeover of Bear, which has the backing of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury, was agreed before the opening of Asian markets on Monday morning in an attempt to stave off a run on other banks.