UPDATE 4-Macquarie buys Canada's Tristone for $105 mln
* To pay C$57 mln in cash, C$59 mln in exchangeable shares
* Expands Canadian financial and energy operations
* Macquarie shares up 2.9 percent (Adds Australian analyst comment, background, share price)
CALGARY, Alberta, May 28 (Reuters) - Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG.AX) is buying Canadian energy investment bank Tristone Capital Global Inc for $105 million, expanding in oil and gas advisory services, asset deals and equity research.
Macquarie, which has been amassing businesses in Canada, will pay privately held Tristone C$116 million ($105 million), in an attempt to diversify the group, an analyst said.
"They are out there acquiring and expanding into markets that are different to the areas of infrastructure management, increasing diversity of revenue sources. This is an example of that," said Angus Gluskie, portfolio manager at Australian fund manager, White Funds Management.
"They just raised quite a bit of capital, and applying capital in a productive manner is what investors want to see," he said.
Macquarie's shares traded up 2.9 at A$31.43 at 0158 GMT, outperforming a 1 percent rise in the wider market .AXJO.
Earlier this month, Macquarie raised $400 million in an issue of new shares as it sought to strengthen its balance sheet after booking larger-than-expected writedowns. [ID:nSYD105145]
Under the deal, Macquarie will pay C$57 million in cash when the deal closes and C$59 million in exchangeable shares over five years, up to a total of four million shares. Reports of the discussions had surfaced in March.
Macquarie bought Orion Financial Ltd, another Canadian investment house, in 2007 and rebranded it under the Macquarie banner.
In February, the group snapped up one of the largest natural gas trading operations in north America from Constellation Energy (CEG.N). [ID:nN03319102]
OPPORTUNITIES
Reporting its first fall in full-year profits in 17 years earlier this month, in part due to A$2.5 billion of asset writedowns, chief executive Nicholas Moore said he saw more acquisition opportunities in the current environment, as prices had become more attractive and more realistic.
"We certainly expect them to acquire more in the next 12 months, taking advantage of the cycle and cheap businesses," Gluskie said.
The acquisition of Calgary-based Tristone "continues the expansion of our advisory and capital markets activities and other related industries including leading pipeline and utility companies who are an important part of our infrastructure business," Paul Donnelly, chief executive of Macquarie Capital Markets Canada, said in a statement on Thursday.
Tristone, established in 2000 by Calgary investment banker George Gosbee, also has offices in London, Houston, Denver and Buenos Aires.
Gosbee would chair Macquarie's Northern Hemisphere energy business, the company said.
Gosbee said folding Tristone into the much larger Australian bank will increase its reach and offer access to larger deals than the firm was previously able to handle.
After a transition, Tristone will be integrated into Macquarie. Its acquisitions and divestitures division will be called Macquarie Tristone.
Macquarie said most Tristone employees will stay in their current locations and will be joined by some of the buyer's own staff. ($1=$1.11 Canadian) (Additional reporting by Scott Haggett, and Mette Fraende in Sydney)
