Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Korea Development Bank had proposed to buy a stake in Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. for $6.40 a share, valuing its offer at about 6 trillion won ($5.3 billion), Chief Executive Officer Min Euoo Sung said.

Lehman, which filed for bankruptcy this week, wanted to sell its shares at $17.50, Min told lawmakers today in Seoul. The Seoul-based bank, set to become fully private by 2012, ended two months of talks to buy a stake in Lehman on Sept. 10 because of disagreements on price and resistance from the South Korean government.

Under the proposed deal, KDB would have taken over Lehman's ``good assets'' after spinning off poor assets into a ``bad company,'' Min said today, without saying how large a stake in Lehman his company sought.

Lehman was the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank when the 158-year-old Wall Street firm filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 15 after failing to find a buyer. Barclays Plc, the U.K.'s third- biggest bank, said yesterday it agreed to acquire Lehman's North American business for $1.75 billion.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bomi Lim in Seoul at blim30@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 17, 2008 23:29 EDT