Lehman's buyout stakes drawing interest: sources

By Megan Davies

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A number of parties are interested in the private equity stakes being sold by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK), a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Goldman Sachs (GS.N), which has one of the world's largest private equity businesses, is one of the potential bidders, a second source said. A Bloomberg report named Coller Capital and Lexington Partners Inc as other firms weighing bids, citing people with knowledge of the situation.

Lehman, which filed the largest bankruptcy case in U.S. history on September 15, has been in the process of unwinding its business.

The bank said earlier this month it was pursuing strategic alternatives for its private equity and venture capital portfolios, which have $15 billion assets in total and employ up to 100 people in New York, London, Boston and California.

The businesses include a $3.3 billion buyout fund and a $3.5 billion real estate and mezzanine fund.

Lehman's own holdings in the funds are somewhere around 15 percent to 25 percent of the total $15 billion, a source familiar with the matter said, with the rest held by other investors.

There is a large "secondary market" for private equity investments, which allows investors to buy or sell positions in private equity funds, or portfolios of companies from existing investors.

Lehman said earlier this month that investment teams for the funds "remain intact and focused as we actively pursue the best strategic alternatives for these businesses going forward."

The private equity assets are separate from Lehman's prized Neuberger Berman asset management business.

Private equity groups Bain Capital LLC and Hellman & Friedman LLC agreed last month to purchase the Neuberger unit for $2.15 billion, and will now be the lead bidder at an auction for the unit in December.

An attorney for rival private equity group Carlyle said at a recent hearing that it would also be interested in bidding for the Neuberger unit at auction.

Lehman and Goldman Sachs declined comment. Coller and Lexington were not available for comment.

(Additional reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)