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Lehman, Cowen in talks
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July 14, 2000: 2:27 p.m. ET
Lehman seeks to acquire SG Cowen's private client business, sources say
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc. is in talks to purchase the private client services business of SG Cowen for an undisclosed amount, people familiar with the discussions told CNNfn.
The deal, which could be announced as early as Monday, would bring 300 SG Cowen employees and all of its private client assets into Lehman's fold, according to the New York Post, which first reported the story Friday. Officials at both Lehman and SG Cowen had no comment on the reports.
Lehman, the third-biggest securities firm by capital, would gain about 300 employees, including roughly 140 brokers. Lehman would also gain about $10 billion in assets under management at SG Cowen, a unit of French bank Societe Generale SA. SocGen purchased the brokerage back in 1998.
 The discussions come as retail brokerages, including Merrill Lynch (MER: Research, Estimates), Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MOR: Research, Estimates) and PaineWebber Group Inc. (PWJ: Research, Estimates), face growing pressure from Internet-related brokerages, which can tempt cost-conscious customers away from the blue-blood Wall Street firms.
The talks also come on the heels of Switzerland's UBS AG's agreement to purchase PaineWebber Group Inc. for $10.8 billion in cash and stock, which was unveiled Wednesday. That deal catapults the combined company to the world's top private banking organization, with $422 billion in private client assets. Approximately half of its private client business will be drawn from high-net-worth and affluent clients in the United States. Total client assets will exceed $1 trillion.
SG Cowen's private client group serves the investment needs of affluent individuals as well as pension funds, money managers and some financial institutions.
Lehman (LEH: Research, Estimates) shares gained 2-7/16 to 115-15/16 in midafternoon trading Friday on the New York stock exchange. 
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