Bloomberg offers $4.5 billion to $5 billion for Merrill Lynch stake

Mark DeCambre of the New York Post reports Wednesday that the blind trust of Michael Bloomberg has offered between $4.5 billionand $5 billion for the 20 percent stake in Bloomberg LP owned by Merrill Lynch & Co.

DeCambre writes, “The talks, which were first reported by The Post last week, are still underway and a deal could fall apart as Merrill aims to monetize its minority stake in the privately held company ahead of its second-quarter earnings call set for July 17.

“Merrill also is looking to offload a portion of its 49 percent stake in asset-management firm BlackRock, which may be sold to multiple parties.

“Candidates have included private-equity firms as well as sovereign wealth funds but details on the deal could not be ascertained. A Merrill spokeswoman declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman for Bloomberg LP.”

Read more here. Meanwhile, Talking Biz News hears that a band was playing in the plaza of the Bloomberg building this morning, and tents were set up with cameras. Anyone know what that was about?