Takeover targets?

J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is in a position to go bargain hunting while his competitors mainly suffer on the sidelines. Here are four possible acquisitions.

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Washington Mutual
Washington Mutual
Market cap: $6.9 billion (as of 8/29)

Advantages:
Dimon has already made an attempt to buy WaMu earlier this year, but was outbid by buyout firm TPG, which took a minority stake. Once again, WaMu is a likely target for Dimon, largely because its smaller market cap makes it an easier deal to get done -- and its beaten-down stock price means it would be a bargain. It also has big branch networks on the West Coast and in Florida, where Chase does not.

Disadvantages:
The reason WaMu's a bargain is that it's a high-risk bet -- it could still face big mortgage writedowns. And WaMu's middle-markets business -- lucrative and low-risk banking services and loans for local, private companies - is small compared to Wachovia's.
NEXT: Wachovia
Last updated September 04 2008: 11:00 AM ET
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