The acquisition follows the revelation early this morning that Lehman Brothers has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, less than a week after announcing an estimated net loss of $3.9 billion in the third quarter of this year.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Bank of America will exchange 0.8595 shares of its common stock for each Merrill Lynch common share, equivalent to 1.8 times the stated tangible book value. Bank of America believes it will be able to achieve $7 billion in pre-tax