Lehman may invest in Shenzhen Bank - paper

SHANGHAI, June 15 (Reuters) Lehman Brothers may invest to million in Shenzhen Development Bank, one of China's five listed lenders, the official Shanghai Securities News reported on Thursday.

Lehman has been in talks about buying 32 million shares in the bank through a private placement that would give it a 1 percent stake, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.

The signing of a deal has been delayed by Shenzhen Development's efforts to reform its share structure, a process which many Chinese companies are now going through, it added.

The bank, based in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen, has previously attracted investment from Newbridge Capital and General Electric's finance arm.

The GE unit said last October it would pay 0 million for a 7.3 percent stake, although completion of the deal awaits the bank's share reform. Lehman's stake would bring the total foreign shareholding in Shenzhen Development up to 25 percent, the maximum permitted by law, the newspaper reported.

Shenzhen Development posted a net profit of 220.53 million yuan (.6 million) in the first quarter of this year, up 47 percent from a year earlier.

REUTERS DH RAI0602