Bear Stearns' Cayne, holder seek rival bid: report : US Business

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bear Stearns Cos Inc Chairman James Cayne and top shareholder Joe Lewis are quietly searching for a bidder that would top the offer from JPMorgan Chase & Co , the New York Post reported on Wednesday.

Cayne and Lewis have contacted private equity firms, including J.C. Flowers and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co , as well as overseas banks Barclays , HSBC , Credit Suisse , and Royal Bank of Scotland , the paper said, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Cayne and Lewis combined hold nearly 15 percent of the stock of cash-strapped Bear Stearns.

The all-stock offer from JP Morgan values Bear Stearns at about $280 million, compared to its valuation of $7.7 billion a week ago.

Bear Stearns was not immediately available to comment. JPMorgan declined to comment.

Bear Stearns shares, which have been trading above the offer of about $2.40 at current stock prices, were down 7.1 percent at $5.49 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Chris Reiter, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

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