When Bear Stearns ended up in the arms of JPMorgan Chase, on March 15, 2008, after a weekend of furious negotiations, the bank had come within a few hours of filing for bankruptcy. That was the stark choice facing the Bear board of directors: Either file for Chapter 11 or accept Jamie Dimon’s offer of $2 a share for the company. The board wisely chose Dimon’s offer, even though the stock had been as high as $172-a-share 14 months before.
The Card Shark: Jimmy Cayne and the Wars of Old Wall Street
William D. Cohan
January 5, 2022
