JPMorgan Close to Deal to Buy Bear

The Wall Street Journal reported JPMorgan would buy Bear Stearns for a per share price that is likely to be "considerably less" than the $30 the stock closed at Friday.

The Journal and the Financial Times both reported the sides were in a rush to complete a deal before financial markets opened in Asia for Monday morning trading, amid fears that a crisis of confidence could roil the system further.

The government, led by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, was reported to be closely monitoring the talks.

After days of denials that it had liquidity problems, Bear was forced into a JPMorgan-led, government-backed bailout on Friday. The arrangement, the first of its kind since the 1930s, resulted in Bear getting a 28-day loan from JPMorgan with the government's guarantee that JPMorgan would not suffer any losses on the deal.

Among the Wall Street investment banks, Bear Stearns was the most closely exposed to the mortgage crisis. The collapse of two of its hedge funds last summer was seen by many as one of the triggers of the current credit crisis.

"The Journal also reported that were a deal with JPMorgan to fall apart, Bear could conceivably file for bankruptcy late Sunday before Asian financial markets opened."