The bankruptcy court extended the deadline to outbid
the deal that
Bain and Hellman & Friedman worked out to purchase Lehman Brothers
Holding Inc.'s asset management unit from noon Monday until 7 p.m., but the
auction has thus far failed to attract anyone else who wants to take a
chance on Neuberger and the other assets included in the deal.
The Carlyle Group, which is the most likely to
make an offer, had
contested the sale of the unit and seemed to be gearing up to make a
bid of its own. Other firms also reportedly taking a look were TPG
Capital, the Blackstone Group LP and Silver Lake.
However, in the two
months since Bain and Hellman & Friedman agreed to purchase the business, much has
changed in the financial services sector. Not only have valuations plunged steeply, but the two buyout shops may have a tough time getting
debt financing for the deal as credit markets are turning their noses
up at bonds for large take-privates. Without the debt component, winning
Neuberger could be tough for any private equity firm, as doing
multibillion-dollar equity deals isn't in any of their play books. -
George White
As the minutes tick away toward the 7 p.m. EST deadline to outbid Bain Capital LLC and Hellman & Friedman LLC's $2.15 billion offer for Neuberger Berman LLC, rival private equity firms (the Carlyle Group in particular) reportedly remain on the sideline.
