One financial services industries lawyer told The Deal that, while an acquisition of Lehman could make sense, especially at a discount to its current tangible book value of about $23 a share as estimated by Bank of America Corp. analyst Michael Hecht, willing acquirers may be difficult to come by, because most financial services firms of any size worldwide are struggling with their own issues.
Meanwhile, the CNBC report was thin on details of who is bidding only mentioning private equity firm Blackstone Group as having potential interest, and only for a stake in the firm. The story specifically said Blackrock was not interested in Lehman.
Lehman is likely in less danger of suffering a run on the bank similar to the one that ultimately sealed the fate of Bear Stearns Cos., considering that broker dealers now have access to the Federal Reserve's emergency lending window in the event of a liquidity crunch.
One hedge fund adviser told The Deal Lehman is nowhere near the player in prime brokerage that Bear was, and that the firm likely has already lost the bulk of its hedge fund customers, which makes the danger of a bank run less worrisome for the firm.
Lehman on Thursday named global head of equities Herbert McDade III to the role of president and chief operating officer, and co-chief administrative officer Ian Lowitt to the role of chief financial officer. Effective immediately, McDade replaces Joseph Gregory, while Lowitt replaces Erin Callan. Both Gregory and Callan will remain at Lehman, the latter as a senior banker in the investment banking division, and the former in an unspecified capacity.
Investors sold Lehman shares on the news, pushing the stock down 4.4% by Thursday close to $22.70. Lehman's shares are down 73% from their 52-week high of $82.05, battered by continuing questions about the strength of the banks' books in light of risky bets in the commercial real estate market.
Thursday's news marked yet another twist in a tumultuous few weeks for Lehman, during which the firm revealed that it expects to take a record quarterly loss of $2.8 billion when it reports second-quarter results on Monday. It also raised $6 billion of capital in a bid to shore up its books through $4 billion of common stock, priced at $28 a share, and another $2 billion of mandatory convertible preferred stock, which carry an 8.75% yield. - Vipal Monga with contribution from Matthew Wurtzel
On the heels of Lehman Brothers Inc.'s surprise management shuffle Thursday, the firm reportedly is actively seeking offers, reports CNBC. 
