Notice of Proposed Individual Exemption Involving the Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. (BS), Bear Stearns Asset Management, Inc. (BSAM), and Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc. (BSC) (collectively, the Applicants) Located in New York, NY

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This document contains a notice of pendency before the Department of Labor (the Department) of a proposed individual exemption from certain prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (the Act) and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). If granted, the proposed exemption would permit the purchase of certain securities (the Securities), by an asset management affiliate of BS from any person other than such asset management affiliate of BS or any affiliate thereof, during the existence of an underwriting or selling syndicate with respect to such Securities, where a broker-dealer affiliated with BS (the Affiliated Broker-Dealer) is a manager or member of such syndicate and the asset management affiliate of BS purchases such Securities, as a fiduciary: (a) On behalf of an employee benefit plan or employee benefit plans (Client Plan(s)); or (b) on behalf of Client Plans, and/or in-house plans (In-House Plans) which are invested in a pooled fund or in pooled funds (Pooled Fund(s)); provided certain conditions as set forth, below are satisfied (an affiliated underwriter transaction (AUT)).\1\ The proposed exemption, if granted, would a