By Nick Brown
NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc
on Tuesday said it will pay about $10.5 billion to creditors
starting early next month, the second leg of a plan to
eventually pay out more than $65 billion.
Lehman will distribute the money to affiliates and
subsidiaries, as well as to third-party creditors, according to
a filing in Manhattan bankruptcy court.
Creditors have already received about $22.5 billion under
the first leg of the payout plan, unveiled in April. The
additional $10.5 billion will bring total payback to around $33
billion.
While that is about half the total they are estimated to
receive, it's a far cry from full payback on the more than $300
billion in claims leveled by creditors against the defunct
financial giant.
Lehman's collapse on Sept. 15, 2008 helped spur the global
financial crisis. Creditors waited 3-1/2 years for payback as
Lehman trudged through a messy liquidation, fighting with
bondholders and creditors like Goldman Sachs Group Inc
for control of the terms of a payback plan.
In June 2011, Lehman proposed a plan it touted as a "global
compromise," estimating about $65 billion in total payback and
giving many creditors recoveries of between 20 and 30 cents on
the dollar. Creditors of Lehman's parent are projected to
recover about 21 cents on the dollar, while derivatives
creditors, like Goldman, will get about 28 cents.
Actual totals depend on Lehman's success in marketing and
monetizing its real estate and other assets, which could be
affected by changes in markets.
A spokeswoman for Lehman could not immediately be reached.
Lehman said in a statement on Tuesday it anticipates making
a third distribution around March 30.
The case is In re Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, U.S.
Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-13555.
Follow us on Twitter @ReutersLegal | Like us on Facebook