TEMASEK Holdings could reap a gain of US$1.5 billion (S$2.1 billion) from the US$50 billion sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America (BOA). At US$29 a share, Temasek, the largest stakeholder in Merrill, could reap these very substantial gains from the all-stock swap, said Bloomberg News.

The Singapore investment company has invested over US$5.9 billion since December last year in a 14 per cent stake in Merrill.Bloomberg said that Temasek appears to have paid about US$23.11 a share based on calculations from exchange filings.

'It's a huge premium and I expect that there's been some discussion behind closed doors to come up with a price that is justifiable and that everyone is happy with, including Temasek,' Ms Daphne Roth, ABN Amro's head of equity research in Asia, told Bloomberg.

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