Babcock & Brown

Babcock & Brown

Babcock & Brown was a global investment and advisory firm based in Sydney, Australia that went into liquidation in 2009. It was best known in financial markets for structured finance deals. The company had at its peak 28 offices and over 1,500 employees worldwide. Although headquartered in Sydney, it had a significant presence in Europe and the United States. The creditors of Babcock & Brown voted to place the company into liquidation on 24 August 2009.

At the end of 2008 Babcock had a market capitalisation of just over $8.5 billion, and in 2007 its market capitalization peaked at above $9.1 billion (A$33.90 per share). However, by October 2008 the share price had collapsed by 95% to A$1.30 and by December 2008 by 99.6% to A$0.14, representing a market capitalisation of less than $50 million. On 13 March 2009 the company was placed into voluntary administration. Approximately 45% of its shares were owned by the executives of the firm.

Nicknamed the "Mini Macquarie", it was a company frequently compared with larger competitor Macquarie Bank.