Bank of America, Merrill Lynch merger gets stockholders' OK, on track to close by year-end

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., Dec. 5 - Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. stockholders approved the company's acquisition by Bank of America Corp. at a special meeting on Friday.

The companies' Sept. 15 merger agreement gives Merrill Lynch stockholders 0.8595 of a share of Bank of America common stock for each share of Merrill Lynch common stock held. The transaction is valued at $50 billion.

Merrill Lynch, a New York investment firm, expects the merger to close by the end of the year, a company news release said.

Also on Friday, Bank of America shareholders approved the issuance of shares of the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank's common stock in connection with the merger.

Bank of America said the addition of Merrill Lynch will "significantly add" to its global footprint in several businesses, including investment banking and sales and trading.

Once the merger is complete, Bank of America expects to have the largest wealth management business in the world with nearly 20,000 financial advisers and about $2.5 trillion in client assets. Bank of America will own about 50% of BlackRock Inc., which had $1.26 trillion in assets under management as of Sept. 30.

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