Sept 4 (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co's (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) talks to sell a significant amount of bad loans to Korea Asset Management Corp are faltering because of a dispute over price, Bloomberg said.
"We have yet to reach an agreement because of differences in assessing the value of assets," Korea Asset Chief Executive Officer Lee Chol Hwi told the news agency in an interview.
"We have been seeking to buy a significant amount, but a deal may be difficult at this rate," Lee said.
State-run Korea Asset can afford to be patient because the U.S. financial crisis will probably push prices lower, Lee said.
Failure to strike a deal may indicate Merrill, which has been battered by more than $50 billion of credit market losses, and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) might have to cut prices for assets they are trying to sell.
No-one at Merrill Lynch was immediately available for comments.
State-controlled Korea Development Bank is in talks with Lehman over a possible joint investment with other Korean banks.
In July, Merrill agreed to sell $30.6 billion of collateralized debt obligations, a kind of repackaged debt, to an affiliate of private equity fund Lone Star Funds, for just $6.7 billion, or about 22 cents on the dollar. (Reporting by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty in Bangalore; Editing by David Holmes)
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