Bank of America's Countrywide Investment: Time Will Tell [View article]
It is naive to believe that BofA is not hedging this transaction via short sales, swaps, or options.
If they hedge it, it's a free half billion dollars, with the added bonus of the interest rate spread between the 7.25% they receive on the preferred and the 3% they'd pay shorting the common.
Unhedged, it's a huge gamble.
If BofA did not hedge this, they are almost criminally negligent with shareholder funds, passing up a free-money, riskless-arbitrage deal for a riverboat gamble.
BofA CEO Lewis the Next to Fall? [View article]
MBNA (2005) $35 billion in cash and stock
Fleet Boston Financial (2004) $47 billion in stock
US Trust (2006) $3.3 billion, all cash"
As the stock was in the 40's and 50's in 2004-2006, and is now in the low-20's, I fail to see how these acquisitions added enormous shareholder value.
A Contrarian Take On the Countrywide Acquisition [View article]
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BofA Will Lose Billions in Countrywide Deal [View article]
wcvarones.blogspot.com...
Bank of America's Countrywide Investment: Time Will Tell [View article]
If they hedge it, it's a free half billion dollars, with the added bonus of the interest rate spread between the 7.25% they receive on the preferred and the 3% they'd pay shorting the common.
Unhedged, it's a huge gamble.
If BofA did not hedge this, they are almost criminally negligent with shareholder funds, passing up a free-money, riskless-arbitrage deal for a riverboat gamble.
More details here