Thursday, March 27, 2008

Jimmie takes it from Jamie

So everyone heard the word that Jimmy Cayne sold virtually all his stock at $10.84 today, which most people took to mean he considers that $10 is the most that Bear can expect to get, and just wanted to arb the 84 cents before it was too late. The reality is much more likely that Jimmy was indeed trying to fluff up new suitors, as was rumored, but Jamie Dimon stepped in to put a stop to that - promising Cayne a nice private payout in cash and/or JPM stock later, perhaps even a couple years after the deal gets cemented (like shoes on all the Bear brokers who are getting axed). To guarantee this Jimmy merely had to immediately sell his stake in the firm, thereby sending an all too clear and irrevocable signal to other shareholders to shut the fuck up and sign on the dotted line.