JPMorgan Chase in new bid for Washington Mutual

Jamie Dimon’s JPMorgan Chase is expected to make a new bid for Washington Mutual, the biggest building society in the US, after its credit rating was cut to junk by Standard & Poor’s.

The Wall Street bank, which bought Bear Stearns earlier this year, is said to be in 'advanced talks' over buying the Seattle-based firm.



Dimon is understood to be dealing with the matter personally, and to be in talks with WaMu chief Alan Fishman.

Bid: JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon is expected to make a new bid for Washington Mutual

He reportedly approached WaMu earlier this year but was rebuffed.

He is said to have offered a stock-swap buyout at $8 a share.



The current share price is $2, giving the company a market capitalisation of $3.40 billion (£1.89 billion).

WaMu went instead with a $7 billion financing, selling a 13% stake to TPG Capital that valued WaMu at $8.75 a share.

The share price has since fallen heavily. S&P has put the building society on notice for possible future downgrades.



