Macquarie flags listed media fund

Having already bought a couple of Australian radio stations, Macquarie Bank has more media assets in its sights, announcing today that it intends to list a new fund on the Australian Stock Exchange composed entirely of broadcast media companies.

Listing the fund will allow Macquarie to securitise RG Capital Radio and DMG Regional Radio which it bought into in September last year.

Macquarie Bank could not disclose what type of extra assets the bank will acquire, except to confirm that they will be both local and offshore.

However, it is unlikely that any of Australia’s larger media companies will be looking over their shoulder, with Macquarie already flagging last September that it intends to concentrate on other regional media assets outside of Australian state capitals.

Macquarie said it currently has a number of advisers scouting for suitable acquisition targets, and will announce more details of the possible listing in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, just a week after releasing its first in-house hedge fund strategies to the retail market, Macquarie announced today the release of its first Asian multi-manager hedge fund product.

The Macquarie Equinox Asia Trust is available to retail investors and includes seven Asian hedge fund managers.

Asia is the place to be for hedge funds at the moment because the market is so diverse and a long way from reaching full capacity, unlike markets in the United States and Europe according to Macquarie Equity Markets Group division director Cathy Kovacs.