Battle for Lehman's Asian operations

Standard Chartered, Barclays and Nomura are battling to acquire the flagship Asian operations of Lehman Brothers, the collapsed US investment bank.
Top executives of the trio spent the weekend in talks with Lehman trying to assess the value of its regional assets, which include its investment banking, fixed income and equity divisions. Each was expected to submit bids around midnight in Hong Kong.
People close to the discussions said there had also been preliminary enquiries from Samsung of South Korea and Citic, the Chinese conglomerate.
Barclays, the UK lender, has already signed a deal to acquire Lehman's North American investment banking and capital markets businesses, and is vying with Nomura, the Japanese bank, to purchase some of Lehman's European assets.
However, StanChart's inclusion in the trio will surprise many because it has not previously flagged its interest in growing its investment banking division by acquisition.
People familiar with the discussions said the management of Lehman's Asian operations had hired Rothschild to advise on the possible sale.
KPMG, the professional services firm, is also party to the discussions after being appointed as provisional liquidators of Lehman's Hong Kong operations.
Lehman's Asia-Pacific operations in countries such as China, India, Japan and Australia encompass myriad business entities and span multiple court and regulatory jurisdictions.
Lehman's Asian equities franchise would fill a gap in Barclays' Asian operations in the region, while StanChart would considerably strengthen its debt capital markets offering if it emerged victorious.
Nomura is regarded as a largely domestic powerhouse and Lehman's Asian operations would turn it overnight into a serious force in the region's investment banking landscape.