JPMorgan Chase Acquires Washington Mutual for $1.9 billion

By: • Fri, Sep 26 2008, 9:05 AM

JPMorgan Chase has acquired Washington Mutual, a report from the company itself and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said Thursday night.

The FDIC called the transaction "simply a combination of two banks," and said WAMU was acquired for $1.9 billion. They said claims by equity, subordinated and senior debt holders were not acquired.

They clarified that there will be no interruption to Washington Mutual's services and that it will be "business as usual" on Friday.

In a statement, JPMorgan Chase said they see strong capital and liquidity ratios going forward, and the deal makes JPMorgan the largest depository in the U.S.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said they will offer $8 billion in common stock, which could be available as early as Friday morning.

The bank said they will mark down their acquired loan portfolio by about $31 billion.