Lehman Mulls Sale of Neuberger: Sources (CNBC)

Officials at troubled brokerage firm Lehman Brothers (NYSE: leh) have weighed the sale of at least part of its Neuberger Berman asset management unit, sources told CNBC. If Lehman sold the entire unit, the deal could fetch around $8 billion for the cash strapped Wall Sreet firm, the sources said. Such a move could also come at a big cost for Lehman, the smallest of the major Wall Street investment banks, as it removes a very profitable part of the business and would make it difficult to be competitive as a stand alone company. Ratings agencies may also have a problem with Lehman spinning off even a chunk of Neuberger because it provides a stable source of revenue -- a factor that may cause the brokerage to have second thoughts, just as Merrill Lynch (NYSE: mer) did when it recently decided against selling a chunk of its stake... [read full story]