By Steve Slater and Lorraine Turner
LONDON (Reuters) - British bank Barclays (BARC.L: Quote , Profile , Research , Stock Buzz ) is near to a deal to buy Lehman Brothers' (LEH.N: Quote , Profile , Research , Stock Buzz ) core U.S. broker-dealer business, including equity, fixed income,M&A advisory and other parts, a person familiar with the mattersaid.
A deal could save thousands of jobs and many of Lehman's coreinvestment bank operations, a day after the U.S. bank's holdingcompany filed for bankruptcy protection.
Barclays said on Tuesday it was in talks to buy some of Lehman'sassets on terms that would need to be attractive to itsshareholders. It declined to comment further.
The talks mainly involve the core U.S. business, which has 8,000 to10,000 staff, but could include some of its global businesses,several people familiar with the matter said.
One source said a deal was close, but there was no guarantee itwill be sealed as the matter is complex. FT.com said a deal hadbeen reached.
Barclays is not interested in Lehman's asset management and wealthmanagement arms, the sources said.
They said there is an urgency to the talks as a deal would need tobe struck before staff and clients leave and damage the franchise.
A deal would include staff, infrastructure, licenses and some ofLehman's financial positions, but would not leave the UK bankexposed to Lehman's troubled assets, the sources said. Continued...