Bear Stearns has been forced to make a $225m (€166m) write-off on its specialist equities unit as increased automation takes its toll on floor trading.

Bear Stearns has acquired the outstanding minority stake in its Bear Wagner unit, but will write off $225m from the deal. The bank said in a statement the write-off will be entered into its second-quarter results. Bear Stearns earned $539m in net profits in the second quarter of last year.