latest on ceo stepping down

PHIL Green's expected departure from the top job at Babcock & Brown represents the symbolic end of an era as the company attempts to change itself while fighting under a $50 billion debt load.

Like David Coe at Allco, Green will stay actively involved in the company, but the new boss will be infrastructure guru Peter Haufbauer, a move in itself which indicates the direction the company is moving to.

No matter how you cut it, Green’ s departure is a blow to the company and comes more from his own desire for change than any push from either banks or shareholders.

He was never comfortable being in the spotlight on the way up and has certainly had enough of being the company spokesperson on the way down.

It’s just not how he wants to spend his time.

The change enforced on Green highlights the key person risk in companies like BNB and Allco, and debt and equity holders will want to ensure he stays closely involved given his integral role in building the company.

The reality, of course, being they have no formal control over him

Externally the folk at Babcock talk as if the company is going through an orderly transition from a principal investment-based manager to an alternate asset-based fund manager.

The difference being the listed external management model is dead and market confidence in Babcock is zero, so it’s more a matter of change being imposed on Babcock than the other way round.


IM ON BBP NOT BNB

The company’s stock price was down another 8.9 per cent to $4.11 this morning, compared to its 52-week high of $31.08 a share back in November.

That share price move has cut Green’s wealth from roughly $400 million to $50 million and the company’s equity value by some $9 billion.