New Zealand-listed Hamilton Securities Ltd will make an off-market takeover bid for the debentures of the Timbercorp Orchard Trust, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on an AAP story. Hamilton Securities, which was founded in October 2009, will offer 30 A-class shares in Hamilton Securities for each debenture, of which there are 567,737 on issue, each with a face value of $100.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s Bermuda-based life insurance unit, Lehman Re, filed for bankruptcy protection, citing alleged shortfalls on its reinsurance obligations and lawsuits against it in the US, The Royal Gazette reported. The petition for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in Manhattan court on Thursday listed more than $1 billion in debts and as much as $1 billion in assets. Under Chapter 15, companies can win protection from US lawsuits and organise US creditors to help with the company's main bankruptcy in another country.

Bankrupt Canadian telecommunications provider Nortel Networks Corp. has tapped Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP to assist in the sale of its global Enterprise Solutions business to Avaya Inc. for $475 million, as the company continues to unload assets, Bankruptcy Law360 reported. Read more. (Subscription required.)

Herbert Smith has won the lead role on the administration of the UK subsidiary of telecoms manufacturer Nortel, a deal which will see the UK firm representing the company throughout 18 jurisdictions, Legal Week reported. The firm was appointed by administrators Ernst & Young after it had been advising Nortel on pre-administration matters. The administration order includes entities from across Europe and the Middle East, including France, Germany, Spain and Sweden.

Nortel Networks Corp., North America’s biggest maker of phone equipment, plunged in European trading after the Globe and Mail reported the company will file for bankruptcy protection as early as today. The board met last night to deal with “a financial crisis,” the newspaper reported, citing people working with Nortel and its creditors. Nortel will file in Toronto and an undisclosed U.S. location, the Globe and Mail reported. The company faces a $107 million interest payment tomorrow, the newspaper said. David Silke, a Nortel spokesman in Ireland, didn’t immediately return a call for comment.