Macquarie Writes Down $9.27 billion Across Listed Funds

Post by Sharat on September 1, 2009 · Under Business News, Capital Markets, Company News, banking, investments · Comment

Australian investment banking major, Macquarie Group has written down nearly $9.27 billion across its listed funds as the group scales back activities in its satellite fund business model.

Macquarie’s write-downs over the last year include, a $2.54 billion write down at the investment bank itself, it also wrote down the values of Macquarie Countrywide by $1.63 billion, Macquarie Infrastructure Group by $2.4 billion, Macquarie Office Trust by $1.3 billion, Macquarie DDR by $872 million, MAp by$363 million and Macquarie Media by $139 million.

The write downs were the largest it has ever made across its portfolio and analysts believe that they are evidence that the investment bank intends to move away from the listed funds business model it adopted for much of the last decade.

Despite its problems in the listed funds space, many investors believe Macquarie is still keen on retaining a focus on its unlisted funds.

On Friday, investors lauded a proposal by Macquarie to pay $345 million fee in order to internalise management rights in cash rather than through an equity issue to Macquarie.

The new proposal came after the initial scheme for the issuance of 150 million new stapled securities that would dilute the remaining shareholder base attracted intense criticism from major shareholders. The fund’s third-largest investor, Lazard Asset Management, will now back the deal.

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