Household vs. Countrywide Redux

Long-time readers may remember when wrote about this last year. Different crises, but similar situation and looks to be a similar outcome. Just remember, there is always a price for every asset; trying to figure out the correct price is the tricky part. I'm not a merger arb guy, but this looks like a good deal for BAC. The $2billion in the fall, $4 billion now, and let's say $6billion to straighten CFC out, that is still only 50% of book value. Even if you believe the book value of CFC is nonsense, there is some value for BAC, probably more than $12 billion. Eventually, the housing market will come back and BAC will be the number one player by a long shot. Remember, less than a year ago it would have cost at five and probably more like seven or eight times as much. Timing is everything.