Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. has been long been speculated to sell its 20% stake in financial publisher Bloomberg L.P. Now, all the talk maybe a reality as Merrill Lynch is said to be in the early stages of negotiations of selling its minority ownership in the financial media publisher, according to the New York Times on Saturday.
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The report says that Merrill could help Bloomberg fund a buyback of that 20% stake from the New York investment bank. Merrill has been mulling divestments, especially its stakes in Bloomberg and money manager BlackRock Inc., since its investment in mortgages have devastated its bottom line over the last couple of quarters.
The Times reports that Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain said last month its 20% stake in Bloomberg could be worth as much as $5 billion to $6 billion. But some experts wonder if Merrill can garner that amount, outside a sale back to Bloomberg, in a slowing economy especially since private equity firms have been sidelined without cheap financing.
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Gerald Magpily
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http://www.nypost.com/seven/07042008/business/merrill_go_round_118424.htm
The NEW YORK POST first broke this story on Friday not the NY Times.