The business stories that matter, by Fortune's Colin Barr
Type Size  -  +
March 27, 2008, 4:27 pm

Update: No Cayne mutiny at Bear Stearns

The white flag is flying higher than everĀ at Bear Stearns (BSC). Chairman Jimmy Cayne sold his entire stake in the brokerage firm Tuesday, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday afternoon. The filing says Cayne sold 5.6 million shares at $10.84 apiece for a take of $60.8 million. Update: Cayne’s wife sold her 45,669 shares as well, the filing says.

Cayne was CEO of the firm until he was replaced in January following revelations that he was off playing bridge during an August liquidity crisis that nearly ran the firm out of business. Bear recovered from that episode, only to agree earlier this month to be sold to JPMorgan Chase (JPM) for a token sum to avoid a bankruptcy filing.

Even after the price on that deal was renegotiated Monday to $10 a share from $2, some investors held out hope that Cayne and investor Joe Lewis might lead a rebellion that would result in a still higher price. Thursday’s news that Cayne has dumped his stock, which led to a 4% drop in Bear stock in after-hours trading, seems to confirm that scenario was a pipe dream.

People like Cayne only watch out for themselves. Don’t the shareholders remember he was playing bridge when they needed him? He doesn’t exactly sound like a selfless person to me.

Posted By Kris, Scottsdale AZ : March 28, 2008 9:58 am

The motto of people like Cayne is “garab the money and run.” Of course the scenario you outline was a pipedream (or may be a potdream).

Posted By W. Nowack, Leawood, KS : March 27, 2008 6:03 pm

Check this out…
http://www.bearsucks.com/

Posted By Gordon, Atherton, CA : March 27, 2008 4:46 pm

Quite correct, Check Again. Thanks for the note.

Posted By Colin Barr : March 27, 2008 4:44 pm

His wife sold too.

Posted By Check again, NY,NY : March 27, 2008 4:37 pm
CNNMoney.com Comment Policy: CNNMoney.com encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You may not post any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. Please note that CNNMoney.com may edit comments for clarity or to keep out questionable or off-topic material. All comments should be relevant to the post and remain respectful of other authors and commenters. By submitting your comment, you hereby give CNNMoney.com the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, cablecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comment(s) and accompanying personal identifying information via all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity. CNNMoney.com Privacy Statement.
Colin Barr covers business and finance for Fortune.com. Previously he was an editor at TheStreet.com and author of the weekly Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street column, and an editor at Dow Jones Newswires.
Subscribe to Daily Briefing: RSS feed | email newsletter
* : Time reflects local markets trading time.† - Intraday data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges.• Disclaimer
Powered by WordPress.com.