Shareholder says Countrywide buyout is inadeqaute

The SRM Global Master Fund LP has acquired a 5.2% stake in Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC), and wrote in a 13-D filing that it believes that Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC) deal to acquire the company is inadequate: "Based on publicly available information, the Reporting Persons are of the view that the Merger Agreement does not provide sufficient value to holders of the Issuer's Common Stock."

SRM may have a point -- The Bank of America deal values Countrywide at just over 1/3rd of its currently stated book value, but that could be a moving target based on the likelihood of future writedowns.

But with Countrywide making daily headlines with its troubles, its stock was hardly an unknown entity at the time of the Bank of America deal -- If a better option had been available, you have to think Countrywide would have taken it. Although with a board of directors that is reminiscent of, to borrow a line from Dave Ramsey, Gomer Pyle on steroids, anything is possible at Countrywide.

According to The Wall Street Journal, (subscription required), analysts speculate that the uncertainty surrounding certain potential liabilities for the company -- lawsuits and investigations -- may have swayed Countrywide to accept the offer.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that absolutely nothing will come of SRM's argument.