Lehman estate claims sale to Barclays was too low
LEHMAN Brothers’ estate claimed yesterday the fire sale of its broker-dealer and investment banking units to Barclays for $1.54bn (£1bn) was too low.
It is now trying to force an investigation into whether it received enough compensation for its units.
In a US court filing last night, Lehman said it believed that liabilities assumed by Barclays for employee bonuses and certain other contractual agreements were “significantly overstated, or inaccurate”, leading to a “windfall” worth “billions of dollars” for Barclays.
Lehman, which collapsed last September, sparking off the ensuing financial crisis, has asked the US Bankruptcy Court to force Barclays to hand over information related to the obligations. The estates of bankrupt firms are often aggressive in seeking claims against its assets. Barclays could not be reached for comment.