JPMorgan to integrate Bear prime brokerage: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) executives have told Bear Stearns Cos BSC.N employees they will integrate the firm's prime brokerage and global trade processing businesses, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the situation.

The newspaper called the moves among the easiest decisions for JPMorgan, which is buying Bear in a transaction now valuing the investment bank at roughly $10.02 per share. The businesses employ about 800 of Bear's 14,000 employees, the newspaper said.

Prime brokers typically provide trading, lending, cash management and other services to hedge funds.

Bear's trade processing, or clearing, business provides trade completion services to small broker-dealers, and houses its prime brokerage operation. It generated $1.2 billion of net revenue in the 2007 fiscal year, or 20 percent of Bear's total, according to Bear's annual report.

JPMorgan's clearing business caters mainly to larger customers, the newspaper said.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)