Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Lazard Ltd., the investment bank led by Bruce Wasserstein, is close to hiring Alexis de Rosnay, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s former co-head of European investment banking, three people familiar with the talks said.

De Rosnay, 41, may join as a senior partner in London and focus on top clients, including those in the health-care industry, said the people, who declined to be identified as details aren't public.

Firms from Citigroup Inc. to Credit Suisse Group AG have hired Lehman employees after the U.S. securities firm filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 15. Nomura completed its acquisition of Lehman's European equities and investment banking units this month. The Tokyo-based bank also hired 150 employees from the collapsed firm's fixed-income unit.

De Rosnay is one of at least four top Lehman bankers in Europe who won't move to Nomura. Michael Tory, who ran U.K. investment banking, and Riccardo Banchetti, former co-chief executive officer for Europe, are among others that aren't moving to Nomura, people familiar with their plans said last month.

De Rosnay joined Lehman in 2004 and was global co-head of health care in investment banking before his appointment as co- head of European investment banking last month.

Before joining Lehman, he ran European healthcare investment banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he worked for almost eight years. He has advised drug-makers including AstraZeneca Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, and Novartis AG.

Richard Creswell, a London-based spokesman for Lazard declined to comment, as did De Rosnay.

To contact the reporters on this story: Joyce Moullakis in London at jmoullakis@bloomberg.net; Jacqueline Simmons in Paris at jackiem@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: October 23, 2008 12:59 EDT