Beleaguered Bank of America Corp (BoA) has said that it is considering the possibility of reducing its stake in BlackRock Inc. It is the biggest asset manager in the US and the stakes in question are 34 per cent.

BoA had acquired stake through purchase of holdings through Merrill Lynch & Co last year. And while it is said that no decision is final in this regard, the deal it seems is imminent.

The current value of the stakes that BoA has is said to be worth $10.1 billion while as per the regulatory calculations the worth is $9.3 billion.

The sale is in-line with the steps which BoA has taken with respect to selling non-critical assets in retail banking, home lending, wealth management and capital markets units.

Originally, Merrill Lynch had 49.8 per cent stake in BlackRock and had it since 2006. This amount of stake was later diluted.

No official comment was made either from BoA or BlackRock about the issue.

Post the declaration, shares of BlackRock were down 35 per cent to end at $151.58 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.