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Bear Stearns shares slump
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October 25, 2000: 5:56 p.m. ET
Investors flee U.S. investment bank as rumors about ING merger dissipate
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Shares of Bear Stearns Cos. fell nearly 8 percent Wednesday after a top executive at Dutch financial services provider ING Groep NV hinted his company was not interested in acquiring the U.S. investment bank.
Rumors have swirled for weeks that ING was interested in acquiring Bear Stearns, one of the last remaining independent U.S. brokerage firms of significant size. But ING Chairman and Chief Executive Ewad Kist told reporters Wednesday that his company was "not going to do large acquisitions" in the next one to two years.
When pressed if that included a merger with Bear Stearns, he replied: "I think you have your answer."
That helped deflate investors' enthusiasm for a buyout and sent shares of Bear Stearns tumbling $4.94 to close at $58.63 Wednesday, erasing gains from earlier in the week.
In July, Salomon Smith Barney analyst Guy Moszkowski said Bear Stearns' Chief Executive James Cayne has changed his mind and would consider a sale or merger of the New York securities firm.
Moszkowski's comments came amidst a rapid consolidation in the U.S. brokerage industry, which has seen J.P. Morgan (JPM: Research, Estimates), PaineWebber Group Inc. and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ: Research, Estimates) all snapped up by competitors, leading analysts to point to Bear Stearns as the next most logical candidate.
-- from staff and wire reports 
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