(Reuters) – Private-equity firm Carlyle Group and former Neuberger Berman Chief Executive Jeffrey Lane filed an objection to bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc’s sale of Neuberger, its asset management business, court documents show.
Lehman agreed last month to sell the division to Bain Capital LLC and Hellman & Friedman LLC, for $2.15 billion.
In an objection filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, Carlyle and Lane claimed the price paid for Neuberger was too low and violated Lehman’s obligation to maximize the value of its asset sales to pay off creditors.
“This is patently contrary to hornbook law that a debtor which sells assets in a chapter 11 case has an obligation to seek the highest and best values for the benefit of its estate,” the objection said.
Carlyle and Lane said the actual price is closer to $1.55 billion due to provisions and adjustments in the sale agreement.
Bain and Hellman could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters.
(Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore; Editing by Erica Billingham)
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