NEW YORK, Dec. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Trustees of Lehman Brothers First Trust Income Opportunity Fund (the "Fund") has declared a year-end distribution in the amount of $0.3700 per share payable on December 31, 2007 to shareholders of record on December 21, 2007. The special distribution helps the Fund meet its 2007 distribution requirements for federal tax purposes.
Under the Fund's Automatic Dividend Reinvestment Plan (the "Plan"), each common shareholder will have all distributions automatically reinvested in additional common shares of the Fund by The Bank of New York, as agent for shareholders pursuant to the Plan, unless the shareholder elects to receive cash or unless the shares are registered in the name of a broker-dealer or other nominee (that is, in "street name") and the respective nominee does not participate in the Plan. Shareholders whose common shares are held in the name of a broker or nominee should contact the broker or nominee to determine whether and how they may participate in the Plan.
The Fund's continuing ability to pay a certain level of distributions will be dependent on several factors, including the income received on securities held by the Fund, the level of distributions payable on Money Market Cumulative Preferred Shares issued by the Fund, the result of interest rate hedges used by the Fund in seeking to manage short-term interest rate costs and the overall level of Fund expenses.
The distributions declared, as well as future distributions, may consist of net investment income, realized capital gains and return of capital. In compliance with Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, a notice would be provided for any distribution that does not consist solely of net investment income. This notice would be for informational purposes, and would disclose, among other things, estimated portions of the distributions, if any, consisting of net investment income, capital gain and return of capital.
About Lehman Brothers First Trust Income Opportunity Fund
Lehman Brothers First Trust Income Opportunity Fund is a closed-end management investment company whose investment objective is to seek high total return (income plus capital appreciation). The Fund pursues its investment objective by investing its assets primarily in high yield debt securities. These securities are generally lower rated and may involve greater risk of loss. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund's common shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LBC on July 28, 2003. Neuberger Berman Management Inc. serves as the Fund's investment advisor and Lehman Brothers Asset Management LLC (formerly known as Lincoln Capital Fixed Income Management Company, LLC) serves as the Fund's sub-advisor. For more complete information about the Fund, please call the Fund at 1-800-988-5196 or visit the Fund's Web site at http://www.lbftincomeopportunity.com/.
Lehman Brothers (ticker symbol: LEH), an innovator in global finance, serves the financial needs of corporations, governments and municipalities, institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Founded in 1850, Lehman Brothers maintains leadership positions in equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, investment banking, private investment management, asset management and private equity. The Firm is headquartered in New York, with regional headquarters in London and Tokyo, and operates in a network of offices around the world. For further information about Lehman Brothers' services, products and recruitment opportunities, visit the Firm's Web site at http://www.lehman.com/.
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