UK bank Barclays has bought some of the core assets of US investment bank Lehman Brothers for $1.75bn (Ј1bn).
Barclays bought Lehman's North American investment banking and trading unit for $250m, and paid $1.5bn for its New York headquarters and two data centres.
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The deal, which comes after a weekend when Barclays refused to buy all of Lehman, needs bankruptcy court backing.
BBC Business Editor Robert Peston had said earlier that Barclays would not be interested in acquiring Lehman's "toxic investments in the residential and commercial property markets".
'Growth opportunity'
As well as the investment banking and trading operations, Barclays is also acquiring Lehman's fixed income, equities sales, and research departments in North America.
The deal could safeguard the jobs of about 10,000 employees working in the divisions.
The agreement was made not long after Lehman's first bankruptcy hearing in a US bankruptcy court in Manhattan.
John Varley, chief executive of Barclays, said the proposed acquisition was part of a policy of "profitable growth on behalf of our shareholders".
Lehman Brothers chief operating Herbert McDade said: "We have the opportunity to continue the growth and development of our US investment banking and capital market franchises with one of the leading financial institutions in the world."
(BBC)
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