Sale of Lehman's Neuberger Berman Unit Gets OK

Lehman Brothers Monday won bankruptcy court approval to sell its prized investment management division, including Neuberger Berman, to a group led by Neuberger's management.

AP

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck approved the deal at a hearing. The deal is worth $922 million after adjustments, Lori Fife, a bankruptcy attorney representing Lehman, said in court.

The management group beat out an earlier offer by private equity firms Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman, which originally valued the asset management firm at $2.15 billion.

That figure was reduced at an auction earlier this month due to the market slump.

Under the deal, Neuberger's management will own 51 percent of the company and Lehman's creditors will control the remainder.

The court approval concluded a drawn-out sale process.

Lehman put part of Neuberger up for sale in August but failed to find a buyer before filing for bankruptcy in September.

A company hired to sell the business contacted 80 different parties about possibly buying it, Fife said.

The deal is not expected to close for several months, as the new company has to solicit consents from the firm's clients, Fife said.

Founded in 1939 by Roy Neuberger, the business had $160 billion of assets under management as of Nov. 30, it said.

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