Many investors and real estate professionals struck the pose of children with wide eyed wonderment, in anticipation of a Lehman Brothers buyout. Many wondered who would be the suitor to come a calling? What role would the American government play? Visions of the play by play rescue of Bear Stearns, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were ever present, as highlighted in Measure For Measure At 5.3 Trillion Dollars In Assets. In one of my previous posts entitled: When The Chips Are Down, Its Time To Fold And Sell, the playing field seemed ripe for another move of acquisition, in the money sector game called Wall Street.
Lehman Brothers gave all indications that they were ready to make the move.
Alas,the reality is the most viable suitor has left the room. As is the case with most relationships, the old adage "Honesty is the best policy" is equally as appropriate here. Initially, the non-performing asset portfolio was valued at $50 billion. This figure grew to $60 billion by Saturday and early reports this morning are quoting $85 billion. Makes you wonder how management could ever intend to structure a viable merger without providing accurate information.
Was there an effort to intentionally mislead prospective suitors or was there gross incompetence running a muck? Whatever the reason, the buyout is not happening with Barclay and there doesn't appear to be any other suitors calling. Whatever your opinion, this will surely mean bankruptcy for the 158 year firm, as mentioned in the New York Times' article: After Frantic Day, Wall St. Banks Falter.
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I wonder, how does a business survive 158 years only to end its run like this? I don't have the inside track on how Lehman Brothers got here and at this point, it probably really doesn't matter. What is of greater concern is the impact on the nation's strained economy. The relative question is what impact will this have on the real estate industry? What will this new debacle translate into as it relates to the average person seeking to buy and sell real estate today? These and other questions won't have immediate answers. However, as the business of Wall Street plays out today, insights will unfold.
It is my fervent hope, that whatever adverse experience Lehman Brothers' failure brings to the table, the recent acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, will be the offset. Today's New York Times herald the buyout as a Stunning Fall For Main Street's Brokerage Firm. The 94 year old financial institution was a trailblazer, which prided itself on being a very strong independent leader. The early consensus is that there will be significant job losses, much as that over 
at Lehman Brothers. However, the merger does not pose any great risk to the real estate industry and may infact be the offset for helping to stabilize the real estate market.
This weekend's volley on Wall Street resulted in The Biggest Loser and a real Survivor!
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