Citic-Bear Stearns deal not guaranteed

Citic Securities released a statement saying that a final agreement on a proposed deal for it and US investment bank Bear Stearns to invest US$1 billion in each other was not guaranteed, AP reported. Bear Stearns was forced to accept a bailout led by the US government on Friday, as it was unable to meet the demands of investors and lenders pulling their money out of the company. Citic said it had not completed due diligence on Bear Stearns, and would closely monitor the effect of the subprime crisis on the company. Kong Dan, chairman of Citic Securities parent Citic Group, said Citic Securities had been in touch with JPMorgan Chase, which has proposed to buy out Bear in an emergency deal.