The US brokerage firm Merrill Lynch and Co, suffering huge losses from the US subprime mortgage crisis, on Tuesday reported raising 6.6 billion dollars from sales of preferred stock to three investors.

According to the Merrill Lynch statement, Korean Investment Corporation, Japan's second largest bank, Mizuho Financial Group Inc and the Kuwaiti Investment Authority, the country's sovereign wealth fund, are to purchase the stock.

Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain said in a statement that the deal would help shore up the company's capital base.

"One of my main priorities over the last several weeks has been to ensure Merrill Lynch's balance sheet is strong, and these transactions make certain that Merrill Lynch is well-capitalized," said new Chairman and Chief Executive John A. Thain.

In the third quarter of 2007, Merrill Lynch made 8.4 billion dollars in writedowns on US mortgage investments, creating the biggest quarterly loss in the company's 93-year history.

Merrill Lynch plans to announce fourth-quarter and full-year 2007 results on Thursday, January 17, 2008. John Thain, CEO, and Nelson Chai, chief financial officer, plan to host a conference call that day at 8 am Eastern time to review results with the investment community.

Merrill Lynch is expected to write down 15 billion dollars in losses from the credit crunch in the United States, almost twice its original loss estimate, The New York Times reported Friday. Analysts had expected Merrill Lynch to take a 12-billion-dollar hit over bad mortgage investments.