tricom and bnb

for traders info,,,,I dont think BNB is going to stand up and make an investment to save it, its already in the hole 38M, I suppose we will know more in 48hours

Tricom calls on ANZ and B&BFont Size: Decrease Increase Print Page: Print Katherine Jimenez | August 26, 2008
ANZ Bank

ANZ Bank and Babcock & Brown may once again be forced to come to the rescue of Lance Rosenberg's Tricom Equities after Danish bank Saxo walked away from buying a 35 per cent stake in the embattled stock-lending firm.

In brief statement late yesterday, Tricom said it was "actively working" with ANZ and other stakeholders including troubled investment bank Babcock & Brown to "ensure the business remains appropriately capitalised."

The statement came after The Australian reported on the weekend that Saxo may have pulled out of the deal because of "structural issues".

It is understood the main issue with the deal centres on the ring-fencing of past problems and potential litigation -- possibly from client Allco Principal Investments -- with the Sydney stockbroker.

The Australian also understands that while Saxo does not plan to proceed with its 35 per cent acquisition, a future joint venture cannot be ruled out.

Tricom made no mention of the state of its $20 million deal with Saxo yesterday, only saying it will continue to operate a white label partnership with the Danish bank.

An spokeswoman for ANZ said: "ANZ is continuing to work with Tricom.

"Following discussions over the weekend, we remain confident we can find a suitable structure between the various stakeholders for Tricom to be appropriately capitalised and to continue to operate effectively."

Mr Rosenberg said "we are delighted with ANZ's approach and that it shares our confidence in the Tricom business and the opportunities ahead.

"With backing from ANZ, Tricom will remain an independent broker," he said.

It is understood a clearer picture of the situation will emerge in the next 48 hours.

Tricom has been looking for a merger partner since the middle of last month after receiving a $100 million margin call from lender ANZ in January. It was forced to delay settlement of accounts with the Australian Securities Exchange, which resulted in suspension of trade.

ANZ seized Tricom's assets and forced it to unwind a $1.5 billion securities lending book, which consisted mainly of Babcock & Brown satellite stocks.

Tricom came close to striking a $70 million deal with Bell Finance Group in March but the Melbourne stockbroking firm walked away at the 11th hour.

After the Bell deal fell through, Babcock & Brown, ANZ and a group of private investors recapitalised Tricom with a $30 million cash injection to stop it suffering the same fate as collapsed Melbourne firm Opes Prime.

Babcock has a $38 million exposure to Tricom.

It is understood ANZ planned to contribute up to $15 million to the Tricom recapitalisation.

Mr Rosenberg said: "All our other businesses continue to perform well with volumes improving and having recently completed a number of successful equity raisings."