Lehman Brothers Holdings may raise $3 billion to $4 billion of extra capital to strengthen its balance sheet, the
Wall Street
Journalreported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The fresh capital will probably be raised by selling common shares, thus diluting the holdings of current shareholders, the newspaper said.
The amount being mooted indicates that the securities firm's second-quarter loss might be larger than the $300 million that some analysts have been predicting, according to the
Journal, citing unidentified financial executives and analysts.
Lehman will probably make the announcement when it releases its second-quarter results, scheduled for the week starting yesterday, June 16th, the newspaper said.
Lehman has already raised $6 billion in the past year by issuing preferred shares, the
Journaladded.
Mark Lane, a Lehman Brothers spokesman, said in a telephone interview he had no comment.