Which bank acquired Bear Stearns during the 2008 financial crisis?

JPMorgan Chase acquired Bear Stearns during the 2008 financial crisis. The deal was arranged over a tense weekend after Bear Stearns faced a severe liquidity crisis and appeared close to collapse.

On March 16, 2008, JPMorgan Chase announced an agreement to acquire Bear Stearns in a stock transaction initially valued at about $2 per share. The Federal Reserve helped facilitate the rescue because officials feared that Bear Stearns’s failure could spread instability through the financial system and damage markets worldwide.

Public backlash over the extremely low initial price led to revised terms of about $10 per share. JPMorgan also acquired a major stake in Bear Stearns, and the merger was completed on May 30, 2008. The original announcement was commonly reported as a roughly $236 million transaction, though the revised deal was worth more.

The episode is often confused with other crisis-era takeovers. Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch, while Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia. Goldman Sachs and Citigroup did not acquire Bear Stearns.