Nomura buys Lehman's Europe investment bank arm

LONDON (Reuters) - Japan's Nomura <8604.T> has agreed to buy Lehman Brothers' equities and investment banking business in Europe and the Middle East, in a move that should save thousands more overseas jobs at the bankrupt U.S. bank.

Nomura, Japan's biggest brokerage, said it expects to retain "a significant proportion" of the 2,500 staff employed in the businesses. It did not say how much it paid for the deal, but said it will not take on any trading assets or trading liabilities.

Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection last week. Britain's Barclays bought its core U.S. broker-dealer business and Nomura bought its Asia-Pacific arm on Monday. The deals that are expected to save most jobs in each region.

(Reporting by Steve Slater)