Macquarie Group

Macquarie was founded on 10 December 1969 as Hill Samuel Australia Limited, a subsidiary of the UK's Hill Samuel & Co. Limited.[5]

Australian businessman Stan Owens compiled a proposal for Hill Samuel & Co. to establish an Australian subsidiary. After presenting his report in London, Mr Owens was offered the role of implementing it. He became Executive Chairman of Hill Samuel Australia (HSA) and founded the company from offices at Gold Fields House in Sydney's Circular Quay. The company's first three employees were Stan Owens, Blair Hesketh and Geoff Hobson. Later Chris Castleman (on loan from the British parent) and Bill Clarke joined. David Clarke and Mark Johnson were introduced to HSA and became joint Managing Directors in 1971. Despite being given a four-year allowance by the British parent to turn a profit, HSA was profitable by the end of its first twelve months of trading.

In 1971, HSA secured Australia's biggest mandate at the time, a US$60 million financing for corrugated iron manufacturer John Lysaght Australia. HSA expanded its presence in the Australian market, opening a Melbourne office in 1972, and a Brisbane office in 1975.

In other business initiatives during the decade, HSA helped pioneer the foreign currency hedge market in Australia, commenced gold bullion trading, extended its coverage to all listed commodities and was one of the first merchant banks to be granted floor member status at the Sydney Futures Exchange.

The 1980s were marked by significant financial market deregulation in Australia, including the floating of the Australian dollar and the removal of restrictions on foreign banks. To take advantage of the opportunities offered by deregulation, HSA submitted a proposal for the formation of a new substantially Australian owned and controlled bank to be called Macquarie Bank Limited.[6] Authority for HSA to become Macquarie Bank Limited (MBL) was received from the Federal Treasurer Paul Keating on 28 February 1985, making it only the second private trading bank to be established in Australia in modern times.[7]

The bank continued to grow its activities in the 1980s. It became Australia's leading bullion trader, initiated 24-hour foreign exchange trading, commenced stockbroking and corporate leasing activities, opened offices in London and Munich, expanded into funds management by establishing Australia's first cash management account and formed a new structured finance business which would grow to become one of the largest in the world.[6] It also implemented the risk management framework which is credited for the organisation's long history of unbroken profitability. The framework ensured Macquarie was not materially exposed to the October 1987 global share market crash.

In other initiatives, Macquarie established its philanthropic arm, the Macquarie Group Foundation, which has since contributed more than $A330 million to community organisations around the world, and established what has become one of Australia's largest corporate art collections, the Macquarie Group Collection.[8]

On 29 July 1996, Macquarie Bank Limited listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX:MQG).[9] By 30 October 1996 Macquarie had entered the ASX All Ordinaries Index, with a market capitalisation of approximately A$1.3 billion and would grow to more than A$35 billion in 2018[1] to become one of Australia's largest listed companies.

Macquarie continued its overseas expansion during the early 1990s, opening offices in New York, Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing, while extending its Australian operations to Perth and the Gold Coast. Acquisitions during the decade included Boston Australia Limited, Security Pacific Australia and the investment banking arm of Bankers Trust Australia.[10]

In 1994, Macquarie began its infrastructure investment business with the underwriting and placement of publicly listed equity for the Hills Motorway in Sydney.[6] It has continued to grow these activities to become the world's leading infrastructure manager.[11] During the decade, Macquarie also launched its private banking and residential mortgages businesses and established a number of real estate and investment trusts.

50 Martin Place, Macquarie Group's global headquarters in Sydney, Australia.

Macquarie continued to expand its Asia operations in the early 2000s with the opening of offices in Seoul and Tokyo in 2000, and through the acquisition of ING Group's Asian cash equities business in March 2004.[12]

The decade was also marked by the global expansion of Macquarie's infrastructure business, with infrastructure investment funds established in Korea, China, Europe, Russia, India and the Middle East. On 16 December 2004, Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation began trading as Macquarie Infrastructure Company Trust on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:MIC).[13]

Macquarie made a number of significant acquisitions, particularly in the US, in the later part of the 2000s. These included US energy marketing and trading company Cook Inlet Energy Supply, establishing Macquarie's physical natural gas trading business in the US, and Constellation Energy's Houston-based downstream natural gas trading operations. As at 2018 Macquarie Group is the second largest physical gas trader in North America.[14]

Other acquisitions included UK gas supply company Corona Energy in August 2006 and, in 2009, independent energy advisory firm Tristone Global Capital Inc; specialist investment bank Fox-Pitt Kelton Cochran Caronia Walker; Canadian wealth management business Blackmont Capital Inc; the wholesale electricity trading business of US firm Integrys Energy; US-based fixed income fund manager Allegiance Investment Management; the equity derivatives and structured products business of German private bank Sal. Oppenheim; and Condor Ferries service between the UK, Channel Islands and France.[15][16]

In 2005, Macquarie announced an unsolicited takeover bid for the London Stock Exchange valuing the company at £1.5 billion, a bid rejected by LSE management.[17]

In 2007, MBL securityholders and the Federal Court approved the restructure of the Macquarie Group into a non-operating holding company (NOHC) structure.[18]

No. 1 Martin Place, Macquarie Group's secondary office in Sydney

In 2010, Macquarie Group completed its then largest acquisition with the purchase of Delaware Investments, a leading US-based diversified asset management firm, from Lincoln Financial Group.[19] As a result of the acquisition, Macquarie became one of the world's top 50 asset managers.[20] Delaware Investments was re-branded as Macquarie Investment Management in 2017.[21]

Macquarie has significantly grown its renewable energy activities this decade. In January 2015, Macquarie Group acquired a stake in Baltic 2 offshore wind park from EnBW for a fee totalling €720 million.[22] Macquarie Group led a consortium of bidders to successfully acquire the British Green Investment Bank for £2.3 billion.[23] The takeover means the group will manage or supervise around £4 billion of green infrastructure assets and projects, with a further £3 billion of investment targeted.[24] The accompanying announcement stated that it will still pursue its main purpose of attracting private funds to invest in renewable energy generation assets.

Macquarie's Corporate and Asset Finance business made a number of significant acquisitions. In March 2015, Macquarie announced the acquisition of a $US4 billion aircraft operating lease portfolio from AWAS Aviation Capital Limited.[25] In October Macquarie entered into an agreement to acquire the A$8.2 billion Esanda dealer finance portfolio from ANZ Banking Group.[26]

In June 2017, Macquarie's Commodities and Global Markets business completed its acquisition of Cargill Inc's [CARG.UL] petroleum business as well as its North America power and gas business. The transaction expanded Macquarie's global financial and physical oil business footprint to include Geneva and Minneapolis.

In March 2020, Cincinnati Bell, which also owns Hawaiian Tel since their July 2018 merger, merged with Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA).[27][28][29][30]

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Macquarie Wealth Management issued a note to investors, warning that “conventional capitalism is dying” and the world is headed for “something that will be closer to a version of communism’. It forecast “effective nationalisation of capital, universal income guarantees and deep changes in work practice.”[31][32]

On September 15, 2020 two Danish newspapers revealed, that the company's division for "Tax Operations" had been preparing a model designed to attain several payments of dividend tax for the same stocks.[33][34]

• Christopher Castleman - General Manager Hill Samuel Australia (1970-1971)
• David Clarke - Joint Managing Director Hill Samuel Australia (1971-1977), Managing Director Hill Samuel Australia (1977-1984), founding Chairman of Macquarie Bank Limited (1984-2011)
• Mark Johnson - Joint Managing Director Hill Samuel Australia (1971-1977), Director and/or Deputy Chairman Macquarie Bank Limited (1987-2007)
• Tony Berg - Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (1984-1993)
• Allan Moss - Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (1993-2008)
• Richard Sheppard - Deputy Managing Director (1996-2011)

Macquarie Bank maintains political connections through the appointment of former politicians and senior political staffers to senior positions.

• Bob Carr - Premier of New South Wales (1995–2005) and Minister for Foreign Affairs (2012-2013)
• Max Moore-Wilton - Secretary of the Australian Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (1996-2002)
• Graeme Samuel - Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (2003–2011)
• Warwick Smith - Australian Federal Cabinet Minister (1996-1998)
• Alan Stockdale - Treasurer of Victoria (1992-1999)
• John Howard - Prime Minister of Australia (1996-2006)