Lehman's Asset Management Arm Sold on Cheap for $2B

Two private equity firms will acquire Neuberger Berman, the largest and most prestigious component of Lehman Brothers, for $2.15 billion. Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman will pay in cash for the wealth management firm—an indication of just how stultified credit markets have become. Only a month before Lehman collapsed several potential buyers were considering paying three times as much, reports the Financial Times.

Neuberger Berman will be incorporated into a new company called Neuberger Investment Management, whose CEO and other top leadership will come from Lehman Brothers. More than 2,000 employees will be brought over into the new corporation. They have good reason to stick with Neuberger: in recent months executives have watched the value of their own equity holdings drop precipitously.  (More Lehman Brothers stories.)