Business & Finance
Lehman Brothers Holding Inc. will pay $2.3 billion in cash and stock for Neuberger Berman Inc., the parties said. Some analysts questioned the cost of the widely anticipated deal for Lehman, even though Neuberger reportedly had first sought $3 billion. But it is expected to strengthen Lehman's position among wealthy investors in the retail market.
Eastman Kodak Co., struggling to contend with the growing popularity of digital photography, announced it will lay off between 4,500 and 6,000 workers by year's end. The job cuts will be across the board, affecting the administrative, production, consumer imaging, and research and development ranks, the company said.
In other layoff news:
• Another 490 jobs will be cut by Siebel Systems, a leading maker of business software, it announced. With the latest layoffs, the San Mateo, Calif., company will have thinned its ranks by almost one-third, or 2,400 people, since the beginning of last year.
• Flextronics International Ltd., which makes electronics components for such customers as cellphone giant Ericsson and Hewlett-Packard, the computer manufacturer, will cut about 370 jobs from its operations in Tennessee, reports said. Flextronics is based in Singapore. Its US headquarters are in San Jose, Calif.
A federal bankruptcy court granted Halliburton Co. an extension until Sept. 30 to assess the validity of hundreds of thousands of asbestos-related injury claims it inherited as a result of its 1999 merger with engineering/construction giant Dresser Industries. The extension will be Halliburton's third since agreeing to a $4 billion settlement with claimants last December. The case is being heard in Pittsburgh because most of the claims were filed against a local Dresser subsidiary that went bankrupt last year.
Dana Corp., a maker of auto parts, rejected a $2.2 billion hostile takeover bid by smaller rival ArvinMeritor Inc. The latter said it is committed to a merger and suggested it might return with a larger offer. Dana is based in Toledo, Ohio. ArvinMeritor is in Troy, Mich.