Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc. wants to transform the remnants of its staff into an asset-management business, BusinessWeek reported.

In a court filing Monday, Lehman proposed placing its 387 remaining employees into a new business, Lamco Holdings LLC, which would manage about $30 billion of Lehman’s remaining assets, including residential and commercial properties, derivatives, corporate loans and private-equity stakes.

It would also retain 70 members of Alvarez & Marsal LLC, the restructuring firm handling the liquidation.

In addition to retaining employees, the proposal would create more value for Lehman’s creditors, the filing said. Lamco would manage the remaining assets in the Lehman estate at cost and the assets of third-party customers for a profit.

Lehman, once the world’s fourth-largest investment bank, filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2008. It listed $639 billion in assets, the most ever in a U.S. bankruptcy.

“In the course of managing and administering such assets, (Lehman) has built a going-concern asset management business that may be of substantial value, with capabilities that may endure beyond the administration of these Chapter 11 cases, and generate revenues,” Lehman said in the filing.

If approved by Bankruptcy Judge James Peck, the business would begin operations on May 1.

Lehman said it has invested $55 million to develop infrastructure and has “partnered” with a division of Citadel Investment Group LLC, based in Chicago, for technology and administrative services.

According to the filing, the firm plans to manage distressed assets, either from other bankruptcies or troubled companies, and would target four groups: government regulators; banks and insurance companies; failed hedge funds or private equity firms; and government-sponsored agencies such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The skills developed by the asset-management team “are scalable and thus easily transferable to the management of other long-term investment assets for third parties as well,” Lehman said in the filing.

It’s also seeking investors to acquire a stake in Lamco.