Nomura to buy Lehman unit
 Traffic passed Lehman Brothers headquarters on Monday in New York. Japan's largest brokerage Nomura Holdings is reportedly buying the Asian assets of bankrupt Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) |
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PARIS - Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest investment bank, agreed yesterday to buy Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s Asian unit for at least $190 million, and closed in on purchasing two of the bankrupt firm's European divisions.
Nomura will take on 3,000 Lehman employees in countries including Japan, Singapore, India, and Australia, according to a spokesman. The Tokyo-based bank also moved closer to buying Lehman's European investment banking and equities units after Barclays PLC expressed interest in buying only one, three people familiar with the talks said.
Last week's turmoil in the financial markets, starting with Lehman's bankruptcy filing Sept. 15, has provided Asian and European firms with an opportunity to grab market share. Nomura president Kenichi Watanabe is now restarting an overseas push that was rolled back by predecessor Nobuyuki Koga in 2007, as losses on US mortgage investments mounted.
The purchase "will significantly extend our reach in Asia," Watanabe, 55, said in yesterday's statement. "This is a once in a generation opportunity."
PricewaterhouseCoopers, sounding out potential buyers for Lehman's European operation, is in talks with Nomura and may agree to a sale in the next two days, said the people, who declined to identified before an announcement. Barclays, which had sought to acquire only Lehman's equities unit, may still try to buy parts of the division, the people said.
Barclays had already bought Lehman's US division, including investment banking and capital markets operations, for $1.75 billion. Barclays said yesterday it will also take over Lehman's municipal bond business.
Barclays, the United Kingdom's third-biggest bank, said yesterday it completed the $1.75 billion purchase of Lehman's US division.
The London-based bank got approval to buy the investment banking and capital markets operations after Lehman filed the biggest bankruptcy in US history on Sept 15.
Barclays spokesman Leigh Bruce and a Nomura spokeswoman both declined to comment on the European talks.
The Nomura purchase includes mergers and acquisitions, derivatives, electronic trading, and prime brokerage divisions.
