Life Sucks For Lehman

11 Nov 2008 15:57 EST DJ Lehman Brothers Plans To Sell Art To Help Pay Off Creditors

By David McLaughlin Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEHMQ), which is in the process of unloading billions of dollars in assets to raise money for its creditors, now plans to put its art collection up for sale. Lehman has art stored in warehouses in Manhattan and in Paris that it says is worth about $8 million. But before it can sell any of it, it needs to pay bills owed for storing, transporting and framing the art. Lehman owes $20,000 to three companies that have liens on the art. Its asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan for permission to pay the bills so it can begin looking for buyers. Lehman didn't provide details about the artwork in its court filing Monday. The investment bank also said it has valuable art in its offices, though it didn't say how much that art is worth. The art sales is the latest move by Lehman to sell its assets following its historic collapse in September. Lehman said the art collection represents "significant value" to the company, but the sales won't make much of a dent in the $600 billion Lehman owes to creditors. Since its Sept. 15 bankruptcy filing, Lehman has sold its U.S. broker-dealer operations for $1.54 billion and its energy unit for $230 million. It has also sold a plane for $24.9 million and a stake in a hedge fund for $250 million, plus a $250 million stake in a new fund.