The US merchant bank Lehman Brothers is to acquire the US specialist activities of Dutch stockbroker Van der Moolen for an undisclosed sum, the two firms announced on Tuesday.

Van der Moolen said that its NYSE Specialist Book operations booked a loss of €40m in the fourth quarter, excluding the costs for restructuring.
‘This agreement is the end of an era for our company but certainly not the end of our activities in the United States,’ said Van der Moolen chairman Richard den Drijver.
The Dutch stockbroker expects the deal to be completed on December 10. The company’s share price closed at €3.34 on Monday.