Macquarie’s Aussie public markets exit ‘just a matter of time’

Macquarie Group is tipped to exit from its public markets business in Australia. Picture: Britta Campion

There’s a view among some top financial experts that it’s only a matter of time before Macquarie Group also stages an exit from its public markets business in Australia in the same way it has done so internationally.

Macquarie’s asset management arm announced on Tuesday it is selling its North American and European public investments business, comprising equities, fixed income, and multi-asset, to Nomura for about $2.8bn.

The $69bn Australian-listed bank does make substantial profits from trading in both carbon credits and oil and gas, while providing hedging arrangements for gold companies has created a major windfall for Macquarie.

But even Wall Street investment banking heavyweights like Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are struggling to make strong returns in the business of public markets.

The Macquarie business, with $285bn, of assets under management, appeals to the Japanese financial Nomura because it is looking to bulk up.

The public markets business Nomura purchased from Lehman Brothers after the global financial crisis lacks the scale needed to make strong returns.

As an aside, Macquarie Group will host its major Australian investment conference in about two weeks, and the event is telling as it’s usually the time Australian listed companies that need to downgrade their earnings do so.

This year, the event is likely to provide solid insight into the state of the economy amid concerns about global tariffs and market volatility.

It comes as Macquarie’s asset management arm continues to be linked to the sale process for the country’s largest diagnostic imaging provider, I-MED.

Sources say that suitors, including Macquarie Asset Management, have been back looking at I-MED within the past few weeks after it ran the ruler over the business during an official sale campaign for the $3bn-plus Permira-owned company last year.

Another suitor was Bain Capital.