Bank of America and Merrill Lynch agree to deal, valuation at issue

What should be made of Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America? Most people assumed he wanted no piece of Lehman Brothers, given the bank's integration challenges with Countrywide and his famous quip that he had all the fun he could stand in investment banking. But he loomed as Lehman Brothers' savior until the very end, when he decided he couldn't go forward. Which set the stage for a fateful switch: he set his sights on Merrill Lynch, which stood to be lashed in the fallout of the Lehman news. One might argue that Lewis shrewdly played the endgame, coming out with a deal to buy a much stronger property. One that offers even more synergies. Lewis has long coveted the Thundering Herd, but then there's the issue of price. At $29 a share, there has already been some grumbling. After all Merrill had been trading around $17. This strikes many as another bet-the-farm deal, right on the heels of Countrywide. John Thain, the CEO of Merrill Lynch, after a stormy, short tenure is not expected to be remain as an executive.

For more:
- here's an AP article
- No regulatory issues seen. Article

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