A lawyer familiar with the deal says Weil Gotshal & Manges, Lehman's bankruptcy counsel, is handling the deal for Lehman. The source says Ropes & Gray is representing Bain, a longtime Ropes client.
Ropes has represented Bain in several recent deals, including its $11bn (£6bn) acquisition - as part of a consortium of firms - of data systems company SunGard in 2005, with Ropes partner Alfred Rose advised on most of the Bain deals.
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is advising Hellman & Friedman on the deal, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Hellman is a longtime Cleary client. The firm advised the private equity fund on at least three major deals last year, including its purchase of a minority stake in Grosvenor Capital Management, a manager of funds of hedge funds with $24bn (£13bn) in assets.
It is unclear how much Lehman might draw for its investment management unit, which includes the Neuberger-Berman fund management business. Experts valued the unit at $7bn (£3.8bn) before Lehman's bankruptcy filing, but Bloomberg reports that Bain and Hellman made separate bids worth about $4bn (£2.2bn) each earlier this month before deciding to team up.
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