Lehman led trading in bankruptcy claims in 2009

* About $4.4 bln in Lehman claims changed hands last year

* Smurfit Stone was most frequently traded bankruptcy

* $8 bln in claims traded last year -- SecondMarket

By Emily Chasan

NEW YORK, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Creditors of bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc LEHMQ.PK traded some $4.4 billion of claims in 2009, leading an increasingly active market for creditors last year, according to a study on Wednesday.

Lehman Brothers accounted for some 55 percent of the total $8 billion in face value of all bankruptcy claims that changed hands last year, according to SecondMarket Inc, which compiled the study and runs a trading platform for bankruptcy claims and other illiquid assets.

Bankruptcy claims trading lets creditors with claims against bankrupt companies sell their interests to investors before the conclusion of a bankruptcy case.

Some 337 bankruptcies were filed in 2009, representing about $571 billion in debt.

"2009 has been more active than usual and part of that has been the downturn in the economy that led to more companies filing for bankruptcy," said Michael Moro, vice president of data and analytics for SecondMarket.

The market for bankruptcy claims has risen substantially after two years of heavy filings. Companies with about $697 billion in liabilities filed for court protection in 2008, but about 88 percent of that came from Lehman, which had $613 billion in debt when it filed the largest U.S. bankruptcy case in history in September 2008.

This year, Smurfit Stone Container Corp SSCCQ.PK had the most frequently traded claims, with some 1,276 transfers recorded in 2009, according to SecondMarket. Smurfit's first claim traded in April 2009, about four months after the packaging company filed for bankruptcy. The company's shareholders are currently fighting to get some payout from the company's bankruptcy.

Chicken producer Pilgrim's Pride Corp (PPC.N), which recently emerged from bankruptcy, was the second most traded claim, with 599 transfers. It was followed by General Growth Properties with 503 claims transfers and theme park operator Six Flags Inc SIXFQ.OB with 286 claims.

In terms of face value, SemCrude LP creditors traded nearly $1 billion in claims last year, SecondMarket said.

Investors like to buy bankruptcy claims because they are typically unsecured and the claims can help them position themselves as a major stakeholder in the company once it emerges from bankruptcy.

Also, trade vendors and other creditors are sometimes so desperate to exchange their claim for cash to keep their businesses running, that they will accept deep discounts on the claim's full value from potential investors.

Some 6,612 bankruptcy claims were transferred in 2009, according to SecondMarket. (Reporting by Emily Chasan; editing by Andre Grenon)