Bear Stearns Plunges in Premarket

Bear Stearns shares fell 89 percent to $3.40 in premarket trading from a $30 close Friday. But that was well above the $2-per-share value of the JPMorgan offer, which was based on JPMorgan's stock price at Friday's close.

The deep discount was seen as Bear Stearns' only alternative to bankruptcy given its dire straits, which forced the investment bank to seek help from the Federal Reserve late last week.

"One reaction is shock that a company (Bear Stearns) that reaffirmed its book value at around $84 on (Wednesday) can be worth $2 per share four days later on Sunday," Deutsche Bank analyst Mike Mayo said in a note to clients on JPMorgan.