PwC details PlanB for Lehman
LEHMAN Brothers’ European administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has put forward a proposal to distribute $8.9bn (£5.6bn) of the collapsed Wall Street giant’s assets directly to creditors.
PwC said it would seek to entice creditors into a voluntary contractual arrangement which would see them agree to a settlement avoiding a protracted court case.
The administrator said the plan was a “Plan B” to an earlier scheme of arrangement to return assets that was rejected by the High Court at the end of August and is currently under appeal.
Under the new agreement, creditors such as hedge funds and other institutional investors would sign up to a plan that would see the majority of their assets tied up in Lehman Brothers returned.
PwC partner Stephen Pearson said he hoped that 90 per cent of creditors would sign up, to lessen the risk of those who do not participate opting to file claims further down the line against those who do.
Should PwC’s High Court appeal fail, the new plan, termed the “contractual solution” by the administrator, would see it begin returning assets in the first half of 2010.
A spokesman said: “We are still very much hoping that the original scheme will go through.”
The administrator’s Plan B applies to just a fraction of the creditors around the world seeking to recoup funds from the rubble of the collapsed bank.
The contractual solution would give creditors until 31 January 2010 to stake their claim to assets held by the administrator. PwC has returned some $13bn of Lehman assets under individual agreements.