Here’s an update on the Lehman deal being worked out this weekend.
Fed, Street Draft Deal To Buy Lehman’s Bad Assets
By Charlie Gasparino, at CNBC
Excerpts: "A deal has been drafted to buy Lehman Brothers’ bad assets and clear the way for an eventual sale of the troubled firm, CNBC has learned.
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CNBC.com
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Under the terms of the proposal, which could still blow up, all the major Wall Street firms would pitch in $30 billion total to purchase Lehman’s bad real estate assets and create what’s knows as a "bad bank."
The proposal is being drafted Saturday night and will be discussed Sunday morning, according to sources close to CNBC. If Wall Street agrees on the terms, which would amount to around $3 billion per firm, it would clear the way for the sale of Lehman Brothers itself to one of several suitors, including Bank of America, Barclays Plc and HSBC.
Executives remained less than pleased with the proposal as they left the New York Federal Reserve around 6 p.m. to convene again Sunday morning. Contingency planning for no deal getting done, potential bankruptcy and defaults continues as Lehman continues its search for a buyer.
"Why should we give up capital so Barclays and Bank of America can buy a clean bank," said one Wall Street executive.
Despite the grumbling, those in the know expect the deal to get done Sunday, with Barclays in the lead to buy the rest of Lehman, including Neuberger. No price has been set just yet.
One Wall Street executive involved in the meetings put it this way: "I’m thinking logically; if they do nothing it’s Armageddon. That means they do a deal. It will be announced at 6 p.m. (ET) Sunday."..
…But with firms like Bank of America and Barclays refusing — at least so far — to budge on their position that they will only buy Lehman without the beaten down real estate assets, and the street balking on the government plan, which calls on the big firms to chip in a total of around $3 billion to purchase the Lehman assets, people with direct knowledge of the meeting say a deal may not get done."…
Full article here.
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