Shares of Lehman (LEH:![]()
LEH 7.79, -6.36, -44.9%) , which had been scheduled to report results on Sept. 18, fell about 45% Tuesday, to $7.79. It was the company's biggest one-day percentage decline ever, dragging the share price down 85% from where it stood a year ago.
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc
Last: 7.79-6.36-44.95%
4:01pm 09/09/2008
Delayed quote data
4:01pm 09/09/2008
Delayed quote data
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Pressure has been building on Lehman to disclose its financial status as the market's grown increasingly concerned over its ability to raise capital and shed underperforming assets.
The sell-off in Lehman shares was accelerated on reports that talks aimed at securing an investment from government-owned Korea Development Bank have ended without reaching an agreement, further clouding Lehman's ability to raise capital and sell assets.
Analysts estimated over the past week or so that Lehman was still holding more than $70 billion of troubled real estate-related assets. Almost $30 billion of that is tied to commercial real estate and a recent downturn in this market is worrying analysts, who had forecast write-downs for the company totaling $4 billion to $5 billion.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research expect the company to report a third-quarter loss of $2.81 a share, while Morgan Stanley predicted the financial firm would post a loss of $2.80 a share, on the back of a $3.5 billion write-down.
Underscoring concerns about the brokerage's financial health, Standard & Poor's put Lehman credit ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications on Tuesday.
A Lehman spokesman declined to comment on the S&P move.
Among options still left to bolster its sagging finances, Lehman is reportedly considering selling all or part of its investment-management business, led by Neuberger Berman. Other possibilities include spinning off its commercial real estate assets into a separate business.
