Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s European corporate finance and asset management units are close to finding a buyer after their U.S. parent filed for bankruptcy.
``We are in discussions with interested parties to sell the Lehman Brothers Asset Management and Corporate Finance businesses,'' Dan Schwarzmann, a partner at Lehman's European administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers, said in a statement today. ``Our aim is to complete a deal in the next few days.''
Banks worldwide are picking over Lehman's remains and headhunters are targeting its employees after the 158-year-old firm filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 15. London-based Barclays Plc agreed this week to buy Lehman's North American investment- banking unit for $1.75 billion, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. is in talks to buy some of Lehman's Japanese units.
``We are in deliberations with about half a dozen parties right now,'' Schwarzmann said in a telephone interview. ``Client contracts are still valid and the employees are still working. If the team does start disintegrating, there will be a loss of value.''
Barclays is in talks to take over parts of Lehman's equities business in Europe, Barclays President Robert Diamond said earlier this week. Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest securities firm, is among other potential buyers. Lehman employs about 4,500 people at headquarters in London's Canary Wharf.
Bids for Lehman's European unit were due today, two people familiar with the talks said. It's still possible discussions may break down, they added.
Corporate Advisory Unit
Lehman's London-based corporate finance unit employs about 700 people while asset management employs almost 200, he added. Lehman placed four of its European units in administration on Monday.
Separately, PwC today said Lehman owns at least $15 billion of property assets in Europe that are for sale. Most of the properties are located in the U.K. The rest are in countries including Sweden, France, Finland, Spain and Croatia, PwC said.
Lehman is ranked 12th in European merger advisory work this year, down from seventh in 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The bank helped advise Continental AG, Europe's second largest car parts maker on a bid from Schaeffler Group, and Aluminum Corp. of China on its stake-building in Rio Tinto Group this year.
