Macquarie departs YBR

Macquarie Group has quietly brought to an end its six years as an investor in Mark Bouris-led mortgage and wealth group Yellow Brick Road.

Sources said Macquarie had offloaded its remaining YBR holding, which was less than 5 per cent.

It comes at a time the company faces corporate raider Ron Brierley's Mercantile Investment Company.

At the height of its YBR holding Macquarie owned an 18.4 per cent stake.

Its sell-down began in April with a large tranche of YBR shares secured by Mercantile.

The latest Macquarie YBR divestment also throws into question other parts of the strategic partnership, according to the Australian Financial Review, as YBR talked up the company's prospects, with backing from Macquarie, of becoming a fifth pillar to rival the major banks, claims later played down by Macquarie chief executive Nicholas Moore.

Mercantile owns almost 20 per cent of YBR.

It pitched its bid at 9 cents cents per share, a 3 per cent discount to where the stock was then trading.

YBR shares are well down from their most recent peak of 17 cents in October last year.

After Bouris rejected the takeover as “grossly inadequate," YBR’s shares rose 10 per cent to 11 cents.