NEWS9:01 AM, 23 Oct 2008 Babcock & Brown in talks with private...

NEWS
9:01 AM, 23 Oct 2008




Babcock & Brown in talks with private equity firms
TOP News



Troubled investment bank Babcock and Brown is reportedly in talks with private equity firms with regards to the sales of the company.

According to The Australian Financial Review, Babcock has sent out confidential documents to some private equity firms, which could lead to them investing in the group or taking it over.

Babcock & Brown declined to comment on the newspaper report.

The move comes as Babcock's partner in a property investment joint venture offshore, GPT Group announced it has written off its $2 billion investment in an European property joint venture.

"The write-down of the joint venture could have serious consequences for B&B, which is understood to have bowed to concerns about the strength of its financial position by formally responding to several unsolicited offers from private equity firms," the newspaper said.

Babcock & Brown and its satellite funds have been shrinking this year and their shares have been in freefall, as the group's model of borrowing heavily to buy assets and sell them into investment funds has faltered in the global credit crunch.

Babcock & Brown's shares last traded at $1.40, down 94 per cent so far this year, or three times as weak as the broader market.