Bear Stearns Cos. said it will oppose...

Bear Stearns Cos. said it will oppose a tentative agreement by Jardine Strategic Holding Ltd. to settle suits arising from Jardine’s termination of an offer to buy 20% of the brokerage firm. Jardine aborted the offer on Oct. 23, 1987, after the stock market crash. Bear Stearns filed suit in December, 1987, accusing Jardine of breach of contract and wrongfully ending the stock tender offer worth about $400 million. The lawsuit sought unspecified damages. Bear Stearns said the agreement, which it described as tentative and conditional, is with representatives of four Bear Stearns shareholders owning a nominal number of shares. Bear Stearns said it would oppose the settlement because it believes that it will “only serve the interests of Jardine and the lawyers representing the four shareholders.”