As the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy news raises questions about the fate of Neuberger Berman, it looks like that deal just got bigger. Dow Jones' Marietta Cauchi and Jennifer Bollen report that, according to one anonymous source, Lehman's European chief, Christian Meissner, said that the entirety of Lehman's asset management business is now up for grabs, for an estimated $6 billion. And one source identified the fifth private equity bidder for the business as CVC Capital Partners.

So, if there are other interested parties who wanted 100 percent control of Neuberger and the rest of Lehman's asset management, such a chance could bring new buyers into the fray and perhaps put some upward pressure on the deal's pricing, even in light of Lehman's Chapter 11 filing (see MFWire, September 15, 2008).

Last week Lehman confirmed that had put a 55 percent stake in its asset management business on the block (see MFWire, September 10, 2008). Early reports prior to that announcement indicated that three private equity firms -- Bain Capital, Hellman & Friedman and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts -- were all bidding (see MFWire, September 4, 2008), and on Friday Cauchi bumped that number up twice to five, yet named only one additional bidder, Clayto Dubilier & Rice (see MFWire, September 12, 2008). And a fundster consultant speculated that Goldman Sachs and Putnam might also be interested (see MFWire, September 12, 2008). 

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