JP Morgan buys Bear Stearns for $240 million

JP Morgan said on Sunday that they've bought Bear Stearns for $240 million. This is a tenth of its value. 85 years of independence was finished for Bear. It had grown to the fifth largest securities firm at Wall Street. Shareholders of Bear will get cash worth $2. This was valued at $30 just three days ago on March 14th. The highest this share had ever seen was $159. The embarassment was total after Bear's clients pulled $17 billion from it last week and that could've forced Bear into winding up. Bear Strearns had 14,000 employees. Their profits in 2006 were $1.2 billion, yet JP Morgan are paying less than one fourth the value of Bear Stearns' 1.2 million square feet 45 storied office building in Manhatten, New York valued at $1000 a sq.ft which makes it worth about $1.2 billion !At the peak last year, their share was at $159, one month ago at $80, at $60 on Thursday and $30 at close on Friday.