Judge Says Lehman Can Sell Units To Barclays

NEW YORK (AP) — The bankruptcy judge who approved the sale of part of Lehman Brothers says the firm is an icon that fell victim to “the tsunami that has befallen the credit markets.”

Bankruptcy Judge James Peck approved the plan just after midnight that would see the 158-year-old investment bank sell its investment banking and trading businesses to Barclays.

Lehman filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history Monday, after Barclays declined to buy the investment bank in its entirety.

Lehman lawyer Harvey Miller calls the sale “a good match economically” and says “it will save the jobs of thousands of employees.”

The British bank will take control of Lehman units that employ about 9,000 employees in the U.S. Barclays took on a potential liability of $2.5 billion to be paid as severance, in case it decides not to keep certain Lehman employees beyond 90 days.

The deal is said to be worth between $1.35-$1.75 billion.