Nomura grabs Lehman Asia unit

By Emi Emoto and Michael Flaherty

TOKYO/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Japan's Nomura Holdings is to buy the Asian operations of Lehman Brothers, a source with direct knowledge of the deal said on Monday, outbidding other banks seeking to scoop up the bankrupt U.S. bank's Asian assets.

The source did not say how much the deal was worth, nor did he say if certain Lehman units were excluded from the agreement.

Nomura and Britain's Barclays Plc have also bid for parts of Lehman's business in Europe, as administrators seek to save as many jobs and salvage as much business as possible from the wreckage of what was Wall Street's fourth biggest investment bank.

Barclays is interested in Lehman's European equities businesses, a person familiar with the matter said. That could include 1,000-1,500 bankers and support staff, mostly in London, out of Lehman's European workforce of 6,000.

Nomura has also bid for the European operations, two sources said.

Lehman last week filed for bankruptcy protection after collapsing from its exposure to risky subprime mortgage securities. Barclays struck a $1.75 billion deal to rescue its core U.S. investment banking business, and signalled it might do the same for other units.

Nomura was the first Japanese securities company to establish an overseas office 81 years ago. It has 18,000 staff in 30 countries and its Asia deal and interest in Europe would meet its aim to expand its investment banking business globally.

"Nomura's global hub for this business is London, rather than New York, so bidding for Lehman's European operation makes sense," said Wataru Kasatani, senior financial analyst at Meiji Dresdner Asset Management. "Lehman's Asia operation will also add value to what Nomura has been doing in Asia."