When the Korea Development Bank had signaled that buying a stake in an investment bank might be premature at this juncture, it had appeared the bureaucrats had beaten back KDB’s chairman and former head of Lehman’s Seoul branch, Min-Euoo-song, who was pushing the deal. But the Telegraph tells us not only that negotiations are back on, but that Lehman appears desperate to cinch a deal before its earnings are announced in roughly two weeks.

And no wonder. The Telegraph indicates the earnings release will include $4 billion of writedowns. Note that this is consistent with, even lower than some of the estimates out on the Street now. For instance, Merrill’s Guy Moszkowski forecasts that Lehman will lose $2.6 billion in its third quarter, showing $4.5 billion in losses, with a 35% reduction due to gains on hedges.

So if these numbers are already reflected in the stock price, why the scramble to get a deal done? Is this simply adherence to the recent practice of having capital-raisings in hand that are equal to or in excess of the hit to capital? Is it that, as with the second quarter, the losses that will be announced are vastly worse than expected? Or is it that the details in the financials will suggest that further deterioration is likely?

From the Telegraph: