PRICING SUPPLEMENT File No. 333-122639 - ------------------ (To Prospectus Supplement and Rule 424(b)(3) Prospectus dated February 25, 2005) Pricing Supplement Number: 2500 Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. Medium-Term Notes, Series C Due Nine Months or More from Date of Issue Fixed Rate Notes Principal Amount: $350,000,000 Issue Price: 99.318% (plus accrued interest from August 4, 2005) CUSIP Number: 59018YVV0 Interest Rate: 4.79% per annum Original Issue Date: January 27, 2006 Stated Maturity Date: August 4, 2010 Interest Payment Dates: February 4th and August 4th of each year, commencing on February 4, 2006 subject to the following Business Day convention. Repayment at the Option of the Holder: The Notes cannot be repaid prior to the Stated Maturity Date. Redemption at the Option of the Company: The Notes cannot be redeemed prior to the Stated Maturity Date. Form: The Notes will be issued in fully registered book-entry form. As described in the accompanying prospectus supplement, upon issuance, all of the Notes will be represented by one or more fully registered global Notes. Each global Note will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company, otherwise known as DTC, or any successor to it (the "depository"), as depositary, and registered in the name of Cede & Co., DTC's partnership nominee. Investors may elect to hold interests in the global Notes through either the depository, in the United States, or Clearstream Banking, societe anonyme ("Clearstream, Luxembourg"), or Euroclear Bank S.A./N.V., as operator of the Euroclear System ("Euroclear"), if they are participants in these systems, or indirectly through organizations which are participants in these systems. Clearstream, Luxembourg and Euroclear will hold interests on behalf of their participants through customers' securities accounts in Clearstream, Luxembourg's and Euroclear's names on the books of their respective depositaries, which in turn will hold interests in customers' securities accounts in the depositaries' names on the books of the depository. At the present time, Citibank, N.A. acts as U.S. depositary for Clearstream, Luxembourg and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. acts as U.S. depositary for Euroclear (the "U.S. Depositaries"). Beneficial interests in the global securities will be held in denominations of $1,000 and integral multiples thereof. Except as set forth below or in the accompanying prospectus supplement, the global securities may be transferred, in whole but not in part, only to another nominee of the depositary or to a successor of the depository or its nominee. Other Provisions: The Notes offered by this pricing supplement, and the accompanying prospectus supplement and prospectus, have terms and conditions identical to, and shall be part of the series of, other Medium-Term Notes, Series C issued by ML&Co. Inc. (the Company) on August 4, 2005. The Notes offered hereby and such other, identical Notes previously issued will share the same CUSIP number 59018YVV0. Trustee: JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Underwriters: Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated ("MLPF&S"), LaSalle Financial Services, Inc. and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. (the "Underwriters"), are acting as principals in this transaction. MLPF&S is acting as the Lead Underwriter. Pursuant to an agreement, dated January 24, 2006 (the "Agreement"), between Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (the "Company") and the Underwriters, the Company has agreed to sell to each of the Underwriters and each of the Underwriters has severally and not jointly agreed to purchase the principal amount of Notes set forth opposite its name below:
Underwriters Principal Amount of the Notes ------------ ----------------------------- Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner $343,000,000 & Smith Incorporated HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. $ 3,500,000 LaSalle Financial Services, $ 3,500,000 Inc. ------------ $350,000,000
Pursuant to the Agreement, the obligations of the Underwriters are subject to certain conditions and the Underwriters are committed to take and pay for all of the Notes, if any are taken. The Underwriters have advised the Company that they propose initially to offer all or part of the Notes directly to the public at the Issue Price listed above. After the initial public offering, the Issue Price may be changed. The Company has agreed to indemnify the Underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Underwriting Discount: 0.325% Dated: January 24, 2006