Lehman Brothers is a candidate for a hostile takeover, according to Ladenburg Thalmann analyst Richard Bove who on Thursday changed his rating on the shares to “buy” from “neutral”, reports Bloomberg. “Management is unwilling to sell out at a deeply distressed value,” Bove wrote in a note to clients after the FT reported that Lehman failed to sell a 50% stake to Korea Development Bank and China’s Citic Securities. “The stage is set for a hostile bid to take over the whole company”. The potential buyers walked away after deciding Lehman demanded too high a price, the FT said. Lehman fell 2.9% to $13.33 in NY afternoon trading, after earlier falling as much 8.7%.
