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Lehman, Fidelity just pals
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June 9, 2000: 2:35 p.m. ET
Report: Leading fund company, No. 4 broker discuss formal ties, not merger
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Lehman Brothers Holdings may be looking for a more formal business tie-up with Fidelity Investments, though a merger is apparently not being discussed, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Executives from both companies are discussing plans to team up on mutually beneficial initiatives, the report said, noting the firms worked in tandem when Lehman (LEH: Research, Estimates), the nation's fourth-biggest brokerage, worked on initial public offerings for small investors through Fidelity, the biggest mutual fund company, in June 1999.
 People close to both firms say the two might continue that IPO relationship, officially establishing the initiative as a joint venture rather than a loosely defined team-up, according to the Journal.
Lehman Chairman Richard Fuld told Reuters earlier this week that his company may broaden its Fidelity alliance. "We're going to be doing more and more with them," he said. He stressed that the companies don't plan to merge. "I don't need to do that and they don't need to that," he said.
"We are thrilled with the alliance we have with [Fidelity]," Lehman spokesperson Bill Ahearn agreed, "but there are no plans to formalize anything. We are more than happy with the way things have worked thus far."
Fidelity spokesman Vin Loporchio told CNNfn, "We have an alliance with Lehman to share the strengths of both companies, but we have no plans or discussions regarding a merger or acquisition." Nor, he said, are there plans for any other kind of alteration of the companies' relationship.
Lehman stock was down 15/16 to 85-3/8 in Friday afternoon trading. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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Lehman
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