University of California, Oakland, today announced a $222.5 million settlement with Lehman Brothers for its role as an investment banker to Enron Corp. The settlement is the largest won to date by the university, which is the lead plaintiff in a class-action suit against Enron and its investment bankers. University pension and endowment funds, which have a combined $59 billion in assets, lost $144.5 million from Enron stock holdings. Previous agreements with Bank of America and Arthur Andersen's international umbrella group resulted in settlements of $69 million and $40 million, respectively. The university had sued Lehman for the loss in value of debt and equity offerings it had underwritten. Unlike some other defendants in the lawsuit, which is set to go to trial in October 2006, Lehman was not charged with fraud.
Other institutional investors that are part of the lawsuit include the $57.3 billion Washington State Investment Board, Olympia, and the $11.9 billion San Francisco City & County Employees' Retirement System.
