Lehman Brothers is to acquire certain assets related to Van der Moolen Specialists, including its New York Stock Exchange portfolio of listed company specialist’s assignments and certain technology.
The transaction is expected to be finalised on 10 December 2007. Upon closing, a Lehman Brothers affiliate will act as specialist for approximately 400 NYSE-listed issues.
The completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, which will occur prior to closing. Terms of the proposed transaction and the purchase price were not disclosed.
“This transaction underscores our continued commitment to providing a competitive, transparent, public market that allows clients to choose how to best suit their sophisticated needs. Under current NYSE leadership, floor-based market making has and will continue to evolve. We look forward to partnering with the Exchange and our clients to continue to improve market quality. We also greatly look forward to working with the floor-based market makers who will soon join our team,” says Gerald Donini, head of Americas Equities, Lehman Brothers.
Lehman Brothers’ market making business will be the fourth-largest specialist firm on the NYSE. With a market share of approximately 12% of the NYSE issuers, Lehman Brothers’ book will include three components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index, seven components of the Standard & Poor’s 100 Index and 44 components of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.