Merrill Lynch To Sell Bloomberg Stake For Roughly $4.5 Billion

July 16, 2008 6:20 p.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - Merrill Lynch will sell its 20 percent stake in Bloomberg LP back to the financial news and data company for roughly $4.5 billion, according to a CNBC report Wednesday after the close.

The investment bank has made it clear in past months that it would sell off assets in order to raise cash and increase liquidity, helping to offset large write-downs for bad loans. CEO John Thain had previously said the Bloomberg stake was worth $5 to $6 billion.

Merrill Lynch reports second quarter earnings Thursday after the close of trading. The company is expected to take write-downs for the quarter up to $6 billion.

According to Reuters estimates, analysts are expecting a second quarter earnings loss of $1.94 a share.

CNBC also reported Merrill would not look to sell any of its 49.8 percent stake in BlackRock Inc. as the sale could affect the company's credit rating. Merrill receives a revenue stream from the BlackRock stake.

Shares of Merrill (MER) closed Wednesday at $28.00, up $3.31, or 13.4 percent.