Lehman to Go Private?

Lehman Brothers Chief Executive Richard Fuld is considering ways to take the Wall Street investment bank private, the New York Post reports this morning.

Talks to privatize Lehman have reportedly gotten more serious as the investment firm is dogged by rumors and questions about its solvency, causing its share price to plunge.

Details on how such a move might work were not clear, the paper said. Lehman could not be immediately reached for comment.

The company's shares closed down more than 14 percent on Monday, reaching their lowest level since August 1999, amid a decline in U.S. financial stocks.

Fox-Pitt Kelton analyst David Trone told Reuters Lehman may be better off going private to shake off short sellers that are spreading bogus rumors about the bank.

The company has been the subject of false rumors in the past, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (see related news item) is investigating whether investors have looked to profit by spreading rumors to push down the company's shares.