Brit Grabs Bear Stake
Bear Stearns
(BSC)
rose 3% after investor Joseph Lewis said he took a 7% stake in the struggling broker over the past month.
Lewis, a U.K. citizen who resides in the Bahamas, said in a filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
that he bought 8.1 million shares at prices between $103 and $150. The purchases were made between Aug. 6 and Sept. 7, the filing said. Lewis runs the Aquarian, Cambria, Darcin, Mandarin and Nivon investment vehicles, which are based in the Bahamas.
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Lewis said he took the stake for investment purposes.
The news comes as Bear and rivals like
Lehman Brothers
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have been hit hard by the collapse of the market for subprime mortgage-backed securities. Two hedge funds run by Bear went belly-up earlier this summer after losses tied to bad subprime bets. News of the hedge fund blowup has sent shares in Bear down 40% from their early-year peak.
The stock rose $3.03 early Monday to $108.40.
