Lehman (LEH) May Or May Not Be Sold, May Or May Not Get Government Help, May Or May Not Sell Assets, May Or May Not Remain Independent

Lehman (LEH) may or may not open for trading on Monday morning. A number of experts believe that the broker’s problems must be resolved before Asia markets open, or that a panic may cause sell-offs in financial stocks.

That would mean the company would have to announce plans by 7 PM eastern time on Sunday.

Depending on which medium is reporting, Lehman’s situation may or may not have been resolved.

According to The Wall Street Journal, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York had takes with head of major investment banks yesterday to try to figure out what would become of Lehman. "The group, which consisted of the heads of most major financial institutions, is expected to meet throughout the weekend to see if it can agree on some way to rescue the ailing firm."

According to Reuters, Bank of America (BAC) may or may not buy Lehman. The news service writes that "the No. 2 U.S. bank by assets, was considering a joint bid for Lehman along with private equity investor JC Flowers and sovereign wealth fund China Investment Co."

According to Bloomberg, Lehman may or may not sell its asset management operations, including Neuberger Berman, to save itself and stay independent. "Lehman received bids for its asset-management unit from private- equity firms including Bain Capital LLC and Clayton Dubilier & Rice Inc., said people familiar with the situation." These offers value the Lehman unit at about $5 billion. Lehman’s entire market cap is only $2.5 billion.

According to the FT, Lehman may or may not make it at all and will simply fail. Writing about any potential deal to salvage the company the FT reports "People close to the discussions said Lehman’s $33bn portfolio of commercial real estate could prove a stumbling block for any deal. Potential buyers could be deterred by fears of further writedowns on the assets."

None of these reports may or may not be right.

Douglas A. McIntyre