Goodbye Mother Merrill

“When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Merrill comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be.” – The Beatles… sort of.

Good luck to any and all of my former coworkers from Merrill Lynch who are still there.

It doesn’t sound like the coming months will be fun.

For anyone who has no idea what I’m talking about:

Crisis on Wall Street as Lehman Totters, Merrill Is Sold, AIG Seeks to Raise Cash
(Carrick Mollenkamp, Susanne Craig, Serena Ng and Aaron Lucchetti; Wall Street Journal; 15 Sep 2008)

The American financial system was shaken to its core on Sunday. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said it would file for bankruptcy protection, and Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed to be sold to Bank of America Corp.

and…

Bank of America to Buy Merrill
(Matthew Karnitschnig, Carrick Mollenkamp, Dan Fitzpatrick; Wall Street Journal; 15 Sep 2008)

In a rushed bid to ride out the storm sweeping American finance, 94-year-old Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed late Sunday to sell itself to Bank of America Corp. for $50 billion.

The deal, worked out in 48 hours of frenetic negotiating, could instantly reshape the U.S. banking landscape, making the nation’s prime behemoth even bigger. Early Monday, the two firms said the directors of both companies had agreed to the deal, which will be subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

It will be a “fun” day on Wall Street today, and a “fun” next few months for anybody at any of the firms involved.