Jose Aguilar

BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. (BFM) is a registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1994 and is a direct subsidiary of BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc., ultimately held by BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK). BFM manages assets for institutional and high net-worth clients, separate accounts, pooled investment vehicles, private investment funds and US registered investment companies.

Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. was a global financial services firm. Prior to declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the US (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merrill Lynch), doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading (especially U.S. Treasury securities), research, investment management, private equity, and private banking. On September 15, 2008, the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following the massive exodus of most of its clients, drastic losses in its stock, and devaluation of its assets by credit rating agencies. Lehman's bankruptcy filing is the largest in US history and played a major role in the unfolding of the late-2000s global financial crisis. The next day, Barclays announced its agreement to purchase Lehman's North American investment banking and trading divisions along with its New York headquarters building. A revised version of that agreement was approved by the US Bankruptcy Court and the next week, Nomura Holdings announced that it would acquire Lehman Brothers' franchise in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, Hong Kong and Australia, as well as Lehman Brothers' investment banking and equities businesses in Europe and the Middle East. The deal became effective on October 13, 2008.