Bobcats owner to buy distressed assets - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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Johnson’s formed a ventured with subsidiary Western Asset Management that has qualified as a fund managerf forthe U.S. Treasury Department’s Public-Private Investment Program. RLJ, which is based in Bethesda, Md., will own 51 perceng of the venture. Legg Mason (NYSE:LM) will own the PPIP is an effort to provide liquidity to the banking system by encouraginbg investors tobuy mortgage-backed securitiex they hold. With rising default rates on underlying mortgages, the value of the securities has plummeted and a secondaryh market doesn’t exist. The federal government is earmarkinb $10 billion to subsidize the purchases.
Legg Mason said last month in a filinb with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Westernm Asset plans to launcha $500 million fund to invesyt in “undervalued and distressed assets,” includinvg residential and commercial mortgages, auto loans and credit-card debt. Baltimore-basede Legg Mason is an asset-management firm serving individual andinstitutional investors.