Jefferies discloses $715 million fund exposure to First Brands bankruptcy

Oct 8 (Reuters) - Investment bank Jefferies JEF.N disclosed on Wednesday that its Leucadia Asset Management fund holds about $715 million in receivables linked to bankrupt auto-parts maker First Brands Group.

First Brands filed for bankruptcy protection late last month, listing more than $10 billion in liabilities, marking the collapse of a company whose rapidly worsening finances had unnerved debt investors in recent weeks.

Jefferies said First Brands stopped forwarding payments from the obligors to Point Bonita, a fund managed by Leucadia, in a timely manner on September 15.

Point Bonita Capital invests in trade-finance assets by purchasing receivables from companies such as First Brands, collecting payments from major retailers on the fund's behalf.

"We are in communication with First Brands' advisors and are working diligently to determine what the impact on Point Bonita might be," the investment bank said.

"We intend to exert every effort to protect the interests and enforce the rights of Point Bonita and its investors."

Financial troubles at the auto parts supplier, coupled with the recent bankruptcy of subprime auto lender Tricolor Holdings, have rattled debt investors and stoked fears of broader stress in corporate debt markets, according to bondholders and bankruptcy experts.

Privately held First Brands, which produces replacement components such as filters, brakes and lighting systems for the automotive aftermarket, became a major industry player through debt-financed acquisitions of rival auto parts companies.

Its well-known brands include Raybestos brake solutions, TRICO wiper blades and FRAM filtration products.