Merrill sells 20% stake back to Bloomberg

Merrill will sell its 20% stake in Bloomberg LP back to the financial news and information giant for about $4.5 billion.

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. has cut a deal to sell its 20% stake in Bloomberg LP back to the financial news and information giant for about $4.5 billion, according to published reports.
Meanwhile, New York-based Merrill has decided to retain its 49.8% stake in BlackRock Inc., the New York-based money manager, it reported in its quarterly earnings statement today.
Merrill is expected announce the Bloomberg sale when it reports its second-quarter results at the close of trading this afternoon.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting Merrill to post a loss of $1.91 per share for the second quarter, compared with earnings of $2.10 per share in the same period a year ago.
The company is widely expected to post at least $5 billion in write-downs for the quarter.
A Merrill spokeswoman had not comment on the matter.