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Free
Writing Prospectus
Filed
Pursuant to Rule 433
Registration
No. 333−136666
January
30, 2007
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New
Issue
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STRUCTURED
EQUITY PRODUCTS
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Indicative
Terms
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The
Bear Stearns Companies Inc.
Notes
Linked to the Performance of the U.S. Adagio Strategy
Index
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Due
February [l],
2010
INVESTMENT
HIGHLIGHTS
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·
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Three-year
term to maturity.
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·
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The
Notes are Accelerated Market Participation Securities linked
to the
performance of the U.S. Adagio Strategy Index (with [150]%
Upside
Participation).
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·
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The
Notes are not principal protected.
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·
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The
Notes are direct obligations of The Bear Stearns Companies
Inc. (Rated
“A1” by Moody’s / “A+” by S&P).
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·
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Issue
Price: 100.00% of the principal amount (99% for investors
who purchase a
principal amount of at least $1,000,000).
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·
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The
U.S. Adagio Strategy Index (the “Index”) is dynamically weighted and is
comprised of the following three Components: (1) the S&P 500®
Index; (2) the iShares®
Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index Fund; and (3) the iShares®
Lehman Aggregate Bond
Fund.
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BEAR,
STEARNS & CO. INC.
STRUCTURED
PRODUCTS GROUP
(212)
272-6928
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The
issuer has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus)
with
the SEC for the offering to which this free writing prospectus
relates.
Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration
statement and other documents the issuer has filed with the
SEC for more
complete information about the issuer and this offering. You
may get these
documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC Web site at
www.sec.gov.
Alternatively, the issuer, any underwriter or any dealer participating
in
the offering will arrange to send you the prospectus if you
request it by
calling toll free 1-866-803-9204.
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STRUCTURED
PRODUCTS GROUP
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GENERAL TERMS |
Issuer:
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The
Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (“BSC”).
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Issuer’s
Rating:
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“A1”
/ “A+” (Moody’s / S&P).
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CUSIP
Number:
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073928T60
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Issue
Price:
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100.00%
of the principal amount (the “Principal Amount”) (99% for investors who
purchase a Principal Amount of at least $1,000,000).
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Principal
Amount:
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To
be disclosed in the final pricing supplement.
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Denominations:
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$1,000
per Note.
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Selling
Period Ends:
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February
[l],
2007.
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Pricing
Date:
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February
[l],
2007.
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Settlement
Date:
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February
[l],
2007.
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Calculation
Date:
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February
[l],
2010. The Calculation Date is subject to adjustment as described
in the
Pricing Supplement under “Description of the Notes - Market Disruption
Events”.
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Maturity
Date:
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The
Notes are expected to mature on February
[l],
2010 (for a term of approximately three years);
provided that, if the Calculation Date is adjusted due to the occurrence
of a Market Disruption Event, the Maturity Date will be three Trading
Days
following the adjusted Calculation Date.
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Index
Level:
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The
Index Level will be calculated on each day the Closing Level of the
Equity
Component is published by its Component Sponsor and the Closing Level
of
each of the Real Estate Component and the Bond Component is available
on
its respective primary exchanges. The Index Level will equal the
sum of
(a) the Index Level last published and (b) the product of (x) the
Index
Level last published multiplied by (y) the sum of the product for
each
Component of (i) the daily percentage change in the Closing Level
of each
Component multiplied by (ii) its respective Component weighting in
the
Index as of such date. In addition, the Index Level will be adjusted
downwards by a monthly amount equal to 0.225% applied pro rata on
a daily
basis, as described in the Pricing Supplement under “Description of the
Notes—Index Level.”
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Initial
Index Level:
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[l],
representing the Index Level, as determined by the Strategy Sponsor
on the
Pricing Date.
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The
Index:
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The
Index replicates a strategy based on the relative weightings of the
three
U.S. asset classes (equities, real estate and government bonds) that
are
represented by the Components. Each Component in the Index is re-weighted
on a monthly basis. The percentage weightings of the Real Estate
Component
and the Equity Component in a given month are determined by a formula
which utilizes the monthly returns of the Real Estate Component and
the
Equity Component for each of the trailing 12 months. The percentage
weightings of the Real Estate Component and the Equity Component
are each
subject to a minimum weighting of 0% and a maximum weighting of 50%
each.
The Bond Component is the residual Component. Its weighting is the
percentage, if any, required to make the sum of all Component weightings
equal 100%.
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Components:
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• The
S&P 500®
Index
(the “Equity Component”) (Bloomberg Ticker: SPX
<Index>):
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- Standard
and Poor’s 500 Index is a capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The
index is designed to measure the performance of the broad domestic
US
economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks
representing all major industries.
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• The
iShares®
Dow Jones US Real Estate Index Fund
(the “Real Estate Component”) (Bloomberg Ticker: IYR
<Index>):
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- iShares®
Dow Jones US Real Estate Index Fund is an exchange-traded fund of
the
iShares Trust, a Delaware statutory trust. The fund’s objective is to
achieve investment results that correspond generally to the price
and
yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Dow Jones US
Real
Estate Index. The fund is traded on the New York Stock
Exchange.
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• The
iShares®
Lehman
Aggregate Bond Fund
(the “Bond Component”) (Bloomberg Ticker: AGG US
<Equity>):
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- iShares®
Lehman Aggregate Bond Fund is an exchange-traded fund of the iShares
Trust, a Delaware statutory trust. The fund’s objective is to achieve
investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield
performance, before fees and expenses, of the total United States
investment grade bond market as defined by the Lehman Brothers U.S.
Aggregate Index. The fund is traded on the American Stock
Exchange.
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Strategy
Sponsor:
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Standard
& Poor’s, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
(“S&P”).
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STRUCTURED
PRODUCTS GROUP
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ADDITIONAL TERMS SPECIFIC TO THE NOTES |
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES OF CASH SETTLEMENT VALUE |
· |
Investor
purchases $1,000 aggregate principal amount of Notes at the initial
public
offering price of $1,000.
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· |
Investor
holds the Notes to maturity.
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· |
The
Initial Index Level is equal to
270.00.
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· |
All
returns are based on a 3-year term; pre-tax
basis.
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· |
No
Market Disruption Events or Events of Default
occur.
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STRUCTURED
PRODUCTS GROUP
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STRUCTURED
PRODUCTS GROUP
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Example
1
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Example
2
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Example
3
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Hypothetical
Initial Index Level
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270.00
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270.00
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270.00
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Hypothetical
Final Index Level
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324.00
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270.00
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216.00
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Level
of Final Index Level relative to the Initial Index Level
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Higher
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Same
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Lower
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Index
Return
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20.00%
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0%
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-20.00%
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Cash
Settlement Value per Note
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$1,300.00
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$1,000.00
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$800.00
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of
Index
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Percentage
Change
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Cash
Settlement
Value
Per
Note
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Return
if
Held
to
Maturity
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of
Index
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Percentage
Change
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Cash
Settlement
Value
Per Note
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Return
if
Held
to
Maturity
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540.00
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100%
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$2,500
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150.00%
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256.50
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-5%
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$950
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-5.00%
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526.50
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95%
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$2,425
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142.50%
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243.00
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-10%
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$900
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-10.00%
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513.00
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90%
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$2,350
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135.00%
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229.50
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-15%
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$850
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-15.00%
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499.50
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85%
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$2,275
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127.50%
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216.00
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-20%
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$800
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-20.00%
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486.00
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80%
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$2,200
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120.00%
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202.50
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-25%
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$750
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-25.00%
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472.50
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75%
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$2,125
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112.50%
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189.00
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-30%
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$700
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-30.00%
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459.00
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70%
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$2,050
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105.00%
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175.50
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-35%
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$650
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-35.00%
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445.50
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65%
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$1,975
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97.50%
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162.00
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-40%
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$600
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-40.00%
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432.00
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60%
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$1,900
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90.00%
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148.50
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-45%
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$550
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-45.00%
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418.50
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55%
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$1,825
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82.50%
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135.00
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-50%
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$500
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-50.00%
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405.00
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50%
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$1,750
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75.00%
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121.50
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-55%
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$450
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-55.00%
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391.50
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45%
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$1,675
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67.50%
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108.00
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-60%
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$400
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-60.00%
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378.00
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40%
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$1,600
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60.00%
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94.50
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-65%
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$350
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-65.00%
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364.50
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35%
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$1,525
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52.50%
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81.00
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-70%
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$300
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-70.00%
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351.00
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30%
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$1,450
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45.00%
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67.50
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-75%
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$250
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-75.00%
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337.50
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25%
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$1,375
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37.50%
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54.00
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-80%
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$200
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-80.00%
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324.00
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20%
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$1,300
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30.00%
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40.50
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-85%
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$150
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-85.00%
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310.50
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15%
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$1,225
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22.50%
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27.00
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-90%
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$100
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-90.00%
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297.00
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10%
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$1,150
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15.00%
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13.50
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-95%
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$50
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-95.00%
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283.50
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5%
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$1,075
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7.50%
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0.00
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-100%
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$0
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-100.00%
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270.00
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0%
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$1,000
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0.00%
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HYPOTHETICAL HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE DATA |
STRUCTURED
PRODUCTS GROUP
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STRUCTURED
PRODUCTS GROUP
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Index
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Equity
Component1
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Real
Estate
Component1
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Bond
Component2
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Static
Basket
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Annualized
Return3
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10.41%
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5.00%
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6.84%
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6.62%
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6.69%
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Volatility4
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6.54%
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18.32%
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14.44%
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4.17%
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9.30%
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Maximum
Drawdown5
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-3.90%
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-39.80%
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-39.27%
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-4.84%
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-10.73%
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Sharpe
Ratio
(with
Risk Free Rate of 0%)6
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1.59
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0.27
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0.47
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1.59
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0.72
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Best
Month Performance
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3.92%
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9.67%
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10.86%
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3.46%
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5.40%
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Worst
Month Performance
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-3.03%
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-14.58%
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-14.50%
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-4.33%
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-7.85%
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%
of
Profitable Months
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74.11%
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58.93%
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61.61%
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70.54%
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64.29%
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%
of
Non-Profitable Months
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25.89%
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41.07%
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38.39%
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29.46%
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35.71%
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Correlation
with Equity Component
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16.99%
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100.00%
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38.58%
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-34.09%
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78.90%
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Correlation
with Real Estate Component
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39.78%
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38.58%
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100.00%
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-7.44%
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84.48%
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Correlation
with Bond Component
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54.89%
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-34.09%
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-7.44%
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100.00%
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-5.95%
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STRUCTURED
PRODUCTS GROUP
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SELECTED RISK CONSIDERATIONS |
· |
Suitability
of Notes for investment —
A
person should reach a decision to invest in the Notes after carefully
considering, with his or her advisors, the suitability of the Notes
in
light of his or her investment objectives and the information set
out in
the Pricing Supplement. Neither the Issuer nor any dealer participating
in
the offering makes any recommendation as to the suitability of the
Notes
for investment.
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No
Secondary market—
The Notes will not be listed on any securities exchange, and we do
not
expect a trading market to develop, which may affect the price that
you
receive for your Notes upon any sale prior to
maturity.
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Taxes
— The
U.S. federal income tax consequences of an investment in the Notes
are
uncertain. We intend to treat the Notes for all tax purposes as pre-paid
cash-settled forward contracts linked to the value of the Index and,
where
required, to file information returns with the Internal Revenue Service
in
accordance with such treatment. Assuming the Notes are treated as
pre-paid
cash-settled forward contracts, you should be required to recognize
capital gain or loss to the extent that the cash you receive on the
Maturity Date or upon a sale or exchange of the Notes prior to the
Maturity Date differs from your tax basis on the Notes (which will
generally be the amount you paid for the Notes). However, other treatments
are possible. You should review the discussion in the Pricing Supplement
under the section “Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations,” and
consult with your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax
consequences of an investment in the
Notes.
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· |
Hypothetical
Index performance does not represent actual
performance.—The
hypothetical historical performance data set forth in the “Hypothetical
Historical Performance Data” section should not be taken as an indication
of the future performance of the Index over the term of the Notes.
Neither
the Notes nor the Index have a trading history. As a consequence,
investors should understand that the historical simulations set forth
herein are based on the application of the strategy of the Index
to the
actual historical performance of the Components, subject to the
constraints set forth in “Hypothetical Historical Performance Data”
above.
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Certain
ERISA Considerations—
The purchase of Notes with assets of an employee benefit plan or
similar
arrangement may be subject to complex rules and regulations governing
the
investment of such assets. Prospective investors are urged to consult
with
their own advisors and review the discussion under “Certain ERISA
Considerations” in the Pricing Supplement regarding the consequences under
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended,
the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended and any other applicable
law
with respect to the investment in the Notes with the assets of an
employee
benefit plan or similar
arrangement.
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LICENSE AGREEMENTS |
STRUCTURED
PRODUCTS GROUP
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