NEW YORK — Lehman Brothers sued Bank of America and Barc lays for breach of contract after they agreed to sell a stake in Arapahoe County-based Archstone to Sam Zell’s Equity Residential, Archstone’s “largest competitor,” according to court papers.
Lehman told the banks Wed nesday night it would buy half of their stake in Archstone, its biggest real-estate asset, for $1.33 billion, meeting a deadline to exercise its right to make the purchase, according to Thursday’s lawsuit. The suit seeks to clarify the terms of Lehman’s right to buy the stake, to make the banks carry out their obligations under agreements in place, and to postpone deadlines for the purchase, Lehman said in the suit filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
The former securities firm, which has approval for a $65 billion liquidation plan, has the right to match Zell’s offer. The two banks had agreed to sell 26.5 percent of Archstone to Equity Residential and granted the Chicago- based company an option to buy the second half of their stake for $1.33 billion or more.
“In violation of several significant contractual provisions, defendants have conspired to sell their combined approximately 53 percent interests in Archstone to Archstone’s largest competitor — Equity Residential,” Lehman said in the suit. Bloomberg News
