Lehman Brothers Inc. received a vote of confidence from the man who broke the Bank of England. The billionaire financier George Soros, through his Soros Fund Management LLC, hiked his stake in the beleagured investment bank to 9.5 million shares as of June 30 from just 10,000 shares, giving him a 1.4% stake, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.
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Lehman's shares are down 75% so far this year as it struggles through the credit crisis that has battered the financial services industry. The firm reportedly might be considering options to shore up its balance sheet such as the sale of Neuberger Berman LLC, which could sell for up to $8 billion even though Marketwatch is reporting that analysts who met with Lehman COO Herbert McDade III say a sale of Neuberger Berman is not being considered. In addition to Neuberger Berman, there is chatter that Lehman also could unload its mortgage assets and may even consider a sale of its entire investment management business, which also includes stakes in hedge funds D.E. Shaw & Co. LP and GLG Partners LP, and private equity funds.
The Soros filing shows that his firm values the investment at $187 million -- of course that's chump change for someone Forbes estimates to be worth $9 billion. Nonetheless, it shows Soros is betting that Lehman won't befall the same fate as Bear Stearns. - Matthew Wurtzel
See filing from the SEC Edgar
See story from Reuters
See related story about Neuberger Berman from Dealscape
Comments
Did he bet that they wouldnt fail, or did he really sink the ship? I bet that he did this to "put the needle" into his own super bubble?