Sangim Han and Steve Dickson, in an article on Bloomberg.com, are reporting that the CEO of Korea Development Bank, Min Euoo Sun, would not comment when asked if the bank would be open to acquiring Lehman Bros. Holding,
Inc., as relayed in a Reuter's report.
The article by Han and Dickson, "Korea Development CEO Declines Comment on Reuters Lehman Report," goes on to say that an unidentified spokesman for Korea Development Bank said that the Lehman Bros. acquisition was one of several options the bank was considering.
Started in 1844 by a German immigrant named Henry Lehman, Lehman Brothers started as a general store in New York City and was launched as a financial firm in 1850 after Henry was joined by brothers Emanuel and Mayer. Since that time Lehman Bros. has become the 4th largest U.S. securities firm and, is a global leader in finance serving entities with a large net worth such as corporations, governments and municipalities.
Korea Development Bank is a state (government)-owned bank. It was founded in 1954 following the Korean War to help spearhead Korea's financial and industrial growth. While they are committed to privatization by the year 2012, they have taken a new look at that target due to the major and rapid changes in global finance. It would make sense to think that perhaps the Lehman Brothers acquisition may be in their plans.
We have, in our city of Peoria, Illinois, the headquarters of a major corporation, Caterpillar Tractor Company. As with many American car manufacturers, Caterpillar was founded in Great Britain. It began in 1950.
Ranking 127th in the world according to Forbes Magazine, Caterpillar has 50.48 billion in assets; it has 85,116 employees worldwide and currently earns about 4 billion annually.
To underline the importance of participation in global finance it is interesting to note Caterpillar's diverse positioning regarding employees. They have employees in Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. This gives them not only a fair average of wages but a marketing stage in all of these areas.
The most important that Caterpillar has done, however is not only acquire companies but, they have developed specific tractors for certain locations and allowed other companies to acquire the rights to these vehicles.
This is one reason they are positioned as they are.
It is not surprising that Korea Development Bank may be considering acquiring Lehman Brothers. The global economy waits for no one. Korea has internal problems. I'm sure the pressure is on to act.
References:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a0QcBEDUlK5k&refer=home
http://www.lehman.com/
http://www.kdb.co.kr/
http://finance.mapsofworld.com/company/c/caterpillar.html
http://www.bigtractorpower.com/agco4wdhistory.htm
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