Lehman's Fuld Races to Sell Firm as Fed Balks at Deal (Yalman Onaran)

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld is seeking buyers for the investment bank amid signs that the U.S. government may balk at providing the funding that enabled Bear Stearns Cos. to sell itself and avoid bankruptcy. 

Fuld, who built Lehman into the biggest U.S. underwriter of mortgage securities during his four decades at the firm, was cornered into a potential forced sale after talks about a cash infusion from Korea Development Bank ended, sparking a 70 percent drop in the firm's market value during the past three days. Unlike when JPMorgan Chase & Co. took over Bear Stearns, the Federal Reserve and Treasury aren't likely to put up money for a purchase of Lehman, people briefed on the matter said yesterday.

{xtypo_quote_left} Lehman still had a $50 billion mortgage portfolio at the end of August, and any would-be buyer would likely seek Fed backing, according to David Hendler, an analyst at CreditSights Inc. {/xtypo_quote_left} 

``Lehman's sale is likely to take a different form because there was serious political fallout from the JPMorgan-Bear deal,'' said Sean Egan, president of Egan-Jones Ratings Co. in Haverford, Pennsylvania. ``It could be a consortium that buys Lehman, with the Fed's help.''

Bankers from other firms were reviewing Lehman's books yesterday, according to people with knowledge of the situation, and a deal may be announced before Asian markets open Sept. 15, one of the people said. The New York-based investment bank announced the biggest loss in its 158-year history on Sept. 10, as devalued real estate assets led to $5.6 billion of writedowns in the third quarter.

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