Acquires Bankers Trust Australia Investment Bank

Document date:  Fri 25 Jun 1999
Published:  Fri 25 Jun 1999 00:00:00
Document No:  185981
Document part:  A
Market Flag:  Y
Classification: 

HOMEX - Sydney                                                        

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Macquarie Bank Executive Chairman David Clarke said today Macquarie
will acquire Bankers Trust Australia's Investment Bank (BTIB).

Macquarie Bank Managing Director Allan Moss said Macquarie regards
the BTIB businesses as successful, highly professional operations
which have obvious synergies with Macquarie, Australia's only listed
investment bank.

"This transaction is about staff and businesses," Mr Moss said. "We
have a very high regard for the BTIB staff and the acquisition
presents Macquarie with an outstanding opportunity to acquire a large
number of skilled professionals from a like organisation.

"In addition, Macquarie will have the opportunity to acquire some
large scale, market leading businesses, such as BT's debt markets
business.

"We are confident that we will be able to integrate the BTIB
operations in the current year with at worst a neutral impact on
earnings per share. The acquisition is expected to significantly
enhance earnings per share in subsequent years."

Mr Moss said Macquarie will begin taking steps to immediately
integrate the BTIB businesses. "We have met with the senior
management team of BTIB over the past week, at Deutsche's invitation,
and their response was a major encouragement to us to proceed with
the acquisition.

"We hope a majority of BTIB employees from across the range of
businesses will choose to remain with us. In the year ahead, we had
expected to recruit up to 1,000 people to meet our normal business
growth demands."

Bankers Trust Australia Managing Director Rob Ferguson said: "This is
an excellent outcome for our staff and clients. I hope as many staff
as possible take the opportunity to continue their investment banking
careers at Macquarie Bank."

Mr Moss said the Bankers Trust businesses are very complementary to
Macquarie's operations in that both groups have a similar
entrepreneurial approach to business while maintaining high
professional standards.

Mr Moss said a key priority for Macquarie will be to maintain a high
level of service to Macquarie's and BT's clients through the
transition period and subsequently.

The final purchase price will be determined at completion and will be
equivalent to adjusted net assets, expected to be approximately 
$100 million.

For the purpose of determining adjusted net assets, provisions will
have been made for employee related payments and other costs and
risks of acquisition.

The transaction will be settled in early August, 1999. At the time of
settlement, BTIB is expected to have gross assets of $5.1 billion,
primarily comprising loan and trading assets.

Risk weighted assets acquired will be in the order of $3.5 billion.

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