Merrill CEO Stan O'Neal finally cooked his goose by making that unauthorized call to Wachovia boss Ken Thompson earlier this month to sound him out about a possible merger. With many thinking that a deal with Wachovia was never really on, Here Is The City wonders just which firms are big enough to acquire or merge as equals with 'Mother' Merrill.

According to Reuters, Merrill is likely to go for anywhere between $85bn - $102bn, so only the big boys could probably play - if they wanted to.

Bank of America

As CEO Ken Lewis recently said - he's had about as much 'fun' from investment banking as he can stand at the moment. So BofA's out.

Barclays Bank

Losing out on ABN AMRO was a close thing. CEO John Varley may still have 'Top 5' global ambitions, but a deal with Merrill comes at a time when he's licking his wounds.

BNP Paribas

Don't be silly - they're French!

Citi

Still acquiring companies, despite its recent problems. CEO Chuck Prince might see a Merrill deal as a way to save his own job, but it would be a huge gamble. Long odds on Citi expressing an interest.

Credit Suisse

It has taken years to overcome the disaster that was the DLJ acquisition in 2000. With Brady Dougan at the helm, the bank is just getting back to some kind of stability. Don't expect the cautious Swiss to rock the boat now.

Deutsche Bank

CEO Josef Ackermann has always said that he will only enter a merger from a position of strength. With Merrill hurting, now could be the time to strike. A deal would also give the European bank a huge platform in the US. A possibilty.

HSBC

Are you having a laugh ? Any move for Merrill would entail a massive change of strategy (again).

JPMorgan Chase

Probably the firm most likely to do a deal. Finished putting to bed the Bank One merger, CEO Jamie Dimon says that he has another big deal in him, and swallowing Merrill will help satisfy his ambition to become the world's largest financial services company.

UBS

Too many problems of its own over at the investment bank to even contemplate a deal. More likely to ditch investment banking at present than take on more exposure in this area.

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