Is a takeover of Lehman Brothers reasonable?

August 25, 2008 — 1:23pm ET | By Jim Kim

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Hostile Bid
Ladenburg Thalmann
Richard Bove
Takeover Attempt
Lehman Brothers

The ubiquitous Richard Bove, analyst at Ladenburg Thalmann, made headlines yet again when he recommended that his clients buy Lehman Brothers because the "stage was set" for a hostile bid. But not everyone buys that, notes Financial News Online. The big question is, who would buy it? Few big banks are positioned to make a hostile bid. They have their own issues and do not need the distraction. I could see some firms bidding for asset management properties, but that would leave the rest of the company to the vultures. So while we may not see a takeover attempt, we may see a white knight move. There may be a company that rides to the rescue in a negotiated deal that will keep a few parts of Lehman alive, while shutting down others, like most of the mortgage-related machinery. The terms will be interesting. The market currently values the non-asset management portions of the business at about zero.

For more:
- here's a Financial News Online article
- KDB warned against buying Lehman Brothers. Article