Shareholders sue Merrill over BofA deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shareholders on Monday filed a lawsuit against Merrill Lynch & Co Inc CEO John Thain and the firm's board of directors over the proposed buyout of Merrill by Bank of America Corp, claiming the terms of the deal are unfair.

The lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme Court on behalf of a shareholder identified as Peter Miller and a class of investors, said the proposed sale of Merrill was "wrong, unfair and harmful to Merrill public stockholders."

(Reporting by Grant McCool and Edith Honan; Editing by Gary Hill)