1. What is the strategic fit between Nomura and Lehman?
2. Is there any organizational fit? How to bridge the gaps between the cultures of these two firms?
3. How does Nomura alleviate the concerns of multiple stakeholders?
4. How would you predict the effectiveness of Nomura's transformation after this acquisition?
In September 2008, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt. Britain's Barclay Capital bought Lehman's North America operations for $3.75 billion. Lehman's assets in Asia and Europe were purchased by Nomura for the bargain-basement price of $200 million. Founded in 1925, Nomura is the oldest and largest securities brokerage and investment banking firm in Japan. Although Nomura had operated in 30 countries prior to the Lehman deal in 2008, it had always been known as a significant, but still primarily regional (Asian), player in the big league of the global financial services industry. In addition to Lehman, the list of elite investment banking firms in early 2008 would include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, JP Morgan, and Citigroup of the United States; Credit Suisse and UBS of Switzerland; and Deutsche Bank of Germany. No one would include Nomura in this group. Nomura viewed itself primarily as an Asian version of Merrill Lynch.