JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and the U.S. government can't seem to agree what the bank's stock warrants are worth. As a result, JPM has asked the Treasury Department to auction off the warrants publicly in order to determine a fair market price.
The JPM warrants were issued to the government under the terms of its TARP loan. Bailed-out banks have the option to repurchase their own warrants, but only if they can strike a deal with the feds regarding a reasonable price. However, many firms have complained that the Treasury is seeking too high a price for the assets -- putting executives in the awkward position of claiming that their stock just isn't worth that much.
In choosing the auction alternative, JPMorgan is waiving its right to repurchase its own warrants (it could potentially bid through the public auction process, but company executives have decided not to do so). If the stock warrants are successfully auctioned off to a third party, their exercise would be dilutive to existing shareholders.
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