Why the CEO is holding out for better terms in any sale of Neuberger is beyond me…strongly reminiscent of Alan Schwartz at BS going to Palm Beach for a banking conference…the forest for the trees, etc.

Where is Einhorn? Need him to shed some light on what is really going on.

You do a link in html this way. Say you want a link to a URL, the command is as follows, except replace the "http://www…." with the URL you want to link to and replace the brackets with carrots (ie, < and >): [A HREF="http://www...." REL="nofollow"]Full article[/A]

Full article

Lehman has issued 14 million shares of its stock at various times under the Neuberger Long-Term Incentive Plan, according to an Oct. 10, 2007 regulatory filing. Since the lifetime maximum Lehman can issue under that plan is 15.4 million shares, the Neuberger LTIP, as it is called, is nearing the end of the line. Aside from the fact that much of their Lehman stock is now underwater –the stock is down 78% from the 52-week high of November and 58% from the day the deal closed — the complaints within Neuberger center around the coming end of those stock grants. Of course, it is not possible to know how much stock Neuberger employees have already cashed in.
In any sale, Neuberger’s employees don’t have many advocates within Lehman now, with the exception of Schwartz. Two of the architects of the deal have left Lehman. Former Neuberger CEO Jeffrey Lane left for Bear Stearns in July 2007 and this July became CEO of private bank Modern Bank. Last week marked the departure of Ted Janulis, who had been overseeing Lehman’s mortgage business but in 2003 was head of Lehman’s wealth and asset-management unit and helped guide Neuberger’s integration. Meanwhile, Lehman is making plans to cut about ,000 employees, according to Bloomberg.
Neuberger’s performance has been strong compared with other fund managers, and it often is called the crown jewel of Lehman Brothers because of its strong growth over the past five years. Neuberger is currently at the tail end of Morningstar’s top-10 fund management companies as of July. Morningstar, which ranked U.S. equity funds, put Neuberger Berman in 10th place in July, up from no. 15 in April.
Any acquisition of an asset manager depends heavily on employee retention. It seems the savvy people at Neuberger have figured that out.

“I think that K.D.B. might have considered forming and leading a consortium (to buy Lehman Brothers),” Financial Services Commission Chairman Jun Kwang-woo told reporters. “But it appears burdensome for a state-run institution to play a leading role (in the purchase of a foreign company) and take risks which may be more than financial.”

Cross-border acquisitions by South Korean companies should be led by the private sector and state-run institutions such as K.D.B. should play a “cheerleader role,” Jun said.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/25/korean-regulator-is-skeptical-of-kdbs-lehman-interest/

Ok, I’m done…

The FSC had asked HSBC to resubmit its application in late July with some revisions as eight months had passed since the initial submission.
HSBC had initially submitted the application in December, after entering into an agreement with U.S.-based Lone Star Funds last September to buy KEB’s controlling stake for around $6 billion.
However, the FSC withheld approval, citing legal “uncertainties” over the U.S. buyout fund’s 2003 purchase of the South Korean bank.
FSC Director-General Kim Gwang-soo said in late July that the resolution of legal uncertainties will come when the Seoul Central District Court gives its ruling on the ongoing trial involving a former finance ministry official and two former KEB executives.
The three are being charged for breach of trust over their alleged links to Lone Star. Prosecutors said they facilitated the sale of the KEB stake to the Dallas-based buyout fund at a lower price than it was worth.
Media and government officials expect the court decision to come out in September or October.
Lone Star bought KEB for about $1.3 billion in 2003.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1844839/
Regulator urges caution for KDB over possible Lehman investment

“In principle, taking over a global investment bank can become an opportunity to raise the capability of the (Korean) investment banking business. But at the same time, as the risks are also big, KDB should take a cautious approach (to such possible investment),” Jun Kwang-woo, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), told a press conference.

Jun said it would be better for private lenders to play a leading role in pushing to take over a global investment bank, expressing the watchdog’s negative stance toward the KDB’s possible deal with Lehman.

“The watchdog welcomes any efforts led by the private sector to go global, but it may be not proper for state-owned financial institutions to lead the role and take on excessive burdens,” Jun added.