Goldman says group may file rival Lehman plan

Goldman Sachs Group said it is part of a creditor group that may file an alternative plan for dividing up billions of dollars of Lehman Brothers' Holdings assets.

The plan would compete with a revised proposal submitted by Lehman Brothers in January and another filed by hedge fund Paulson & Co, the California Public Employees Retirement System and other bondholders in December.

Approval of a plan is key to Lehman's exit from the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Goldman Sachs spokesman Michael DuVally said he could not provide further details on the plan. Lehman declined to comment.

It's disappointing, said John Beiers, a lawyer for San Mateo County, part of the bondholder group which had about $155 million in taxpayer money invested in Lehman Brothers bonds.

My understanding is they (the Goldman group) are suggesting a lower recovery for our type of investments -- even lower than the Lehman estate is suggesting, he said.

Goldman was one of the creditors of Lehman's derivatives business, whose payouts were trimmed in a revised reorganization plan filed by Lehman.

Lehman revised its plan after bondholders complained that it favored large bank creditors of the derivatives business over other creditors.

The revised plan, submitted in January, trimmed payouts to the banks, while raising bondholder payouts.

About $1.2 trillion in claims were filed against Lehman after its collapse during the financial crisis in September 2008. Many claims were dismissed, and Lehman Chief Executive Bryan Marsal estimated in January that allowed claims would be about $322 billion and total payouts about $60 billion.

(Reporting by Dena Aubin; Editing by Ted Kerr and Carol Bishopric)