Replies to post #8691 on Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (fka LEHMQ)

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link please...sounds very good...looks like buyers are agreeing as they find out.



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Ambac drops Lehman claims; shares hit 9-wk high

Ambac shares jump more than 35 pct


* Lehman drops counter-claims against Ambac

* Deal supported by unsecured creditors

* Bankruptcy court yet to approve settlement (Adds share movement)

By Santosh Nadgir

BANGALORE, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK) said troubled bond insurer Ambac Assurance Corp would withdraw claims worth more than $6.1 billion against the company in a deal that helped push up Ambac shares by more than a third.

Though not officially settled, Lehman has made progress in more than halving the amount of claims from third parties, affiliates and others to $464 billion from almost $1.2 trillion in the wake of its record Chapter 11 filing two years ago.

Ambac shares jumped more than 35 percent to 80 cents on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The stock had lost more than 26 percent since March 25, when toxic assets worth $64 billion were seized by Wisconsin state regulators.

The settlement has the support of Lehman's unsecured creditors, but still needs to be approved by the bankruptcy court, papers filed late on Tuesday showed.

The deal avoids a protracted legal battle between the two parties as Lehman also released Ambac of claims for payments owed to it.

As part of the settlement, the two parties have agreed to release each other from any liability under certain disputed derivatives transactions.

"This global settlement is the result of approximately three months of arm's length, good faith negotiations," Lehman said.

Ambac Assurance's parent, Ambac Financial Group Inc (ABK.N), had warned in March it may have to file for bankruptcy if it did not restructure its liabilities by mid-2011. [ID:nN25237354]

Last month, Lehman said it was working to slash claims on the estate and that its differences with creditors were narrowing.

British bank Barclays Plc (BARC.L) bought Lehman's main U.S. brokerage business after the bankruptcy filing, and Lehman's other assets are being managed and unwound while operating under bankruptcy protection.

The case is In re: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-13555. (Reporting by Santosh Nadgir in Bangalore; Editing by Prem Udayabhanu)


http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE6950H520101006?feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&rpc=31