Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. has asked a U.S. bankruptcy court for a six-month extension to file its Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.
Lehman's initial 120-day exclusivity period will run out on Jan. 13, and if the court does not grant the request, creditors or other parties could propose competing plans, Reuters reports.
According to court documents filed late on Dec. 29, Lehman said an extension is “absolutely necessary” because neither the company nor any other party of interest in the case could come up with a plan and build consensus among the company's vast creditors in just 120 days.
The firm also said its employees must recover and review 2,000 terabytes of data that would completely fill 20,000 computers to the maximum, and that it faces challenges relating to at least 76 foreign insolvency proceedings that have been initiated in over 15 countries since it filed for bankruptcy protection.
A court hearing on the request is set for Jan. 14.