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Deals & People December 5, 2008
Merrill Lynch Stockholders Approve BoA Deal
Merrill Lynch&Co., Inc., announced that its acquisition by Bank of America (BoA) has been approved.
Reported by Ellie Behling
The acquisition of Merrill Lynch was approved Friday at its special stockholders meeting along with two other related proposals, according to a Merrill release. Under the terms of the transaction, which was first announced in September (see “Bank of America Buys Merrill Lynch’), Merrill Lynch stockholders will receive 0.8595 of a share of BoA common stock for each share of Merrill Lynch common stock held immediately prior to the merger. Merrill Lynch will also become a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation.
The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the year, pending regulatory approvals and “the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions,’ Merrill Lynch said.
“By approving this transaction, Merrill Lynch stockholders expressed confidence that the combination of our firm and Bank of America will create one of the most powerful financial institutions in the world, with unmatched capabilities and service,” said John Thain, chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch, and soon-to-be president of Global Banking, Securities, and Wealth Management of the merged company (see “Thain To Head Wealth Management at Bank of America’). “This combination will create great value for our stockholders and clients around the world.”