Nomura seals Lehman Europe deal

Lehman's administrators were keen to find buyers for the firm's assets

Japanese bank Nomura has confirmed that it will buy some of Lehman Brothers' European and Middle Eastern operations for an undisclosed sum.

It will acquire the equities and investment banking businesses from the US bank which filed for bankruptcy protection last week.

Nomura said it expects to save the jobs of a "significant proportion" of the 2,500 Lehman staff in those businesses.

It said its priority was to get them up and running under the Nomura name.

Lehman Brothers had an estimated 5,000 workers in the UK.

However, it is not yet clear where the 2,500 jobs that have been saved across the two regions will be located.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, the administrators of the Lehman's business in Europe, said it was "delighted" by the deal.

"Clearly we are very pleased with this outcome which secures the future of so many staff, but there is still a great deal of work to be done on this very complex administration," said Mike Jarvis.

The deal, which Nomura said would significantly extend its geographic reach, is subject to regulatory approval.

It does not include any of Lehman's trading assets or liabilities, Nomura said.

The Japanese bank is also going to acquire Lehman's assets in Asia.