Lehman nears plan for real estate assets: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. LEH.N has settled on a structure that will allow it to offload billions of dollars in real-estate loans from its books, according to the on-line edition of the Wall Street Journal.

The firm is still working out the final details and it isn't clear when a plan will be unveiled, the Journal reported, citing the difficulty of finding financing for a spinoff or sale of these assets.

Lehman has also been looking for buyers for its asset management arm Neuberger Berman.

According to the Journal, Lehman has created a so-called good bank/bad bank structure for the real estate assets, which would likely involve a spinoff of the holdings to shareholders as well as an investment by outside investors.

A Lehman spokesperson could be immediately reached for comment.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba; Editing by Gary Hill)