NEW YORK -- Bank of America Corp. said early Monday it would acquire Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. in an all-stock transaction worth about $50 billion that should lift the uncertainty shrouding Merrill since the start of the credit crisis over a year ago.

"Acquiring one of the premier wealth management, capital markets, and advisory companies is a great opportunity for our shareholders," Bank of America Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ken Lewis said in a press release. "Together, our companies are more valuable because of the synergies in our businesses."

The final agreement is still being worked out but Bank of America is said to have agreed to pay $29 a share for Merrill. That's a 70 percent premium on the brokerage's Friday closing price of $17.05.

Bank of America has the most deposits of any U.S. bank, and Merrill Lynch is the world's largest and most widely recognized brokerage.

"Merrill Lynch is a great global franchise and I look forward to working with Ken Lewis and our senior management teams to create what will be the leading financial institution in the world with the combination of these two firms," said John Thain, chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch, in the release.

Officials from the government and various banks met this weekend to discuss what to do about the troubled investment bank Lehman Brothers. When Bank of America balked at buying Lehman, the government urged it to buy Merrill instead.

Overseas, financial experts took the one-two punch of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch's buyout of hard.

Lehman Seeks Chapter 11 Protection

Storied Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers intends to file for Chapter 11 protection.

The 158-year-old Lehman has been crippled by $60 billion in soured real-estate holdings and has been unable to find an investment partner to throw it a lifeline.

Lehman said none of its broker-dealer subsidiaries or other units will be included in the Chapter 11 filing in U.S. bankruptcy court in New York.

The investment bank is exploring the sale of its broker-dealer operations and is in "advanced discussions" to sell its investment management unit.

The British operations of U.S investment bank Lehman Brothers were placed in administration Monday to protect them from creditors, the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said, while Lehman's parent company in the United States headed for a bankruptcy filing there. Administration protects a British company from creditors while attempts are made to reorganize.

Fed Announces Plan To Combat Credit Crisis

The Federal Reserve has announced new initiatives to expand emergency loan programs to cope with the worst credit crisis in decades.

A statement from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank is broadening the types of collateral that financial institutions can use to obtain emergency loans from the Fed.

They've agreed to set up a $70 billion loan pool that banks, brokerages and other financial companies can lean on if need be.

World Markets Respond Negatively

Overseas, financial experts took the one-two punch of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch's buyout hard.

Asia's biggest stock exchanges in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea were closed for holidays, but every market open was deep in the red.

India's Sensex plunged 5.4 percent, Taiwan's benchmark plummeted 4.1 percent, Australia's key index was down 2 percent and Singapore dropped 2.9 percent.