Babcock & Brown seeks longer suspension

Monday 1st December 2008

Babcock & Brown, the Australian investment group trying to avoid being wound up by its banks, sought an extension to the suspension of its shares to allow more time to negotiate a short-term loan.

The company is seeking funds to replace a deposit that has been seized by one of its lenders. Babcock is negotiating with a syndicate of 25 banks and hopes to make a statement by Wednesday, it said in a statement.

The company modeled itself on Macquarie Group, buying assets, pooling them into funds and charging a management fee. It has some A$3.1 billion of loans that it is selling assets to repay and has cut about 66% of its workers.

Babcock's stock have shed 90% of its value this year and last traded at 25 Australian cents on November 19 before being suspended.

Wachovia Corp. this month said it may seize collateral on a $112 million loan.

By Jonathan Underhill

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