Lehman payout tops $80 bln, creditors get another $17.9 bln

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Frankfurt: HX6.F - news) , March 27 (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc plans next week to distribute about $17.9 billion to creditors, boosting its total payout to roughly $80.4 billion since it left its record bankruptcy, which helped trigger the global financial crisis.

The semi-annual distribution is Lehman's fifth, and will be the largest since an initial $22.5 billion payout that followed the company's emergence from Chapter 11 on March 6, 2012.

In a statement on Thursday, Lehman said the fifth distribution will occur on April 3. The payout will include $12.8 billion to third-party creditors and affiliates, plus $5.1 billion to other Lehman debtors and affiliates.

Following the payout, holders of senior unsecured claims against the parent company will have received about 26.9 cents on the dollar on their claims.

Slightly more than two-thirds of Lehman's distributions have gone to third party creditors.

Lehman's next distribution is expected around Sept. 30.

Once Wall Street's fourth largest investment bank, Lehman filed for Chapter 11 on Sept. 15, 2008.

Lehman had reported $639 billion of assets at the time, which makes its bankruptcy roughly six times larger than any other in U.S. history.

The company ended January with $19.2 billion of cash and investments, of which $6.5 billion was unrestricted.

It spent about $338.7 million on legal, management, financial advisory and other fees and expenses in 2013. Lehman's wind down is expected to last a few years.

The case is In re: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-13555. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Sofina (Frankfurt: 8FS.F - news) Mirza-Reid)