KEY POINTS:
John Thain, embattled chief executive of Merrill Lynch, has held talks with potential buyers of the company's US$5 billion ($6.4 billion) stake in Bloomberg in an effort to boost the investment bank's ailing balance sheet.
Merrill, which is understood to own about 20 per cent of Bloomberg, confirmed it was seriously considering the sale of non-core assets.
It bought its first Bloomberg stake in 1985 and increased its holding to some 30 per cent by 1990. A sale at today's valuations would represent a huge profit as the bank paid just US$39 million for its holding.
Merrill discussed the sale of its Bloomberg stake with Blackstone last week, although it is not known whether the private equity group is considered a potential buyer at this stage. Merrill is also understood to have an agreement to give Bloomberg first refusal if it decides to sell.
Observer
