Lehman looks to exit bankruptcy by 2011

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is hoping to exit bankruptcy protection by early 2011, but the former Wall Street giant will need to assert more international coordination to meet this goal, a federal judge emphasized yesterday in a court hearing, according to published reports. Lehman’s lawyers need to resolve protocols related to dozens of insolvency proceedings pending around the world before it can fully exit bankruptcy protection, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck said at a court hearing in New York. "We would like to be out of this situation within 18 to 24 months," Bryan Marsal, current CEO of Lehman and the co-founder of New York-based restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal Inc., said at yesterday’s hearing, according to published reports. As of Jan. 2, Lehman had a cash balance of around $6 billion, compared with about $3.2 billion on Sept. 14, the day before the Wall Street giant filed for bankruptcy protection, he said at the hearing. To maximize the recovery value of Lehman’s assets, Mr. Marsal said the firm is trying to by resolve outstanding funding commitments, such as derivative contracts, and to sell hard assets such as real estate, art and airplanes.