Lehman Brothers asset management division has acquired a leveraged finance business spun off by five ABN Amro executives as it delves deeper into the sector. Lehman is buying LightPoint Capital Management, a company with assets valued at $3.2bn (€2.3 billion), for an undisclosed sum.
LightPoint has built a business by providing leveraged loans, including the recently much-maligned collateralized debt obligations.
As part of the agreement, LightPoint chief executive Thomas Kramer will move to Lehman Asset management and will co-head the leveraged asset management team in a newly created role which he will share with Ann Benjamin. Kramerand Benjamin will report to Brad Tank, the global head of fixed income asset management.
Kramer was head of North American leveraged finance for ABN Amro before he left to help launch LightPoint in 2002 as a spin-off company.
“Adding capabilities and talent are critical as we continue to build out our global asset offerings.” says Joseph Amato, Lehman Brothers global head of asset management.