RBS in rival bid for Babcock Infrastructure: paper

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A Royal Bank of Scotland consortium will make a A$1.5 billion ($1.4 billion) bid for Australian investment firm Babcock & Brown Infrastructure (BBI) , taking aim at a rival Canadian proposal, the Australian Financial Review said on Thursday.

Citing an unidentified RBS source, the business daily said RBS will give details of the bid if BBI investors reject a $1.6 billion recapitalization plan backed by Canada's Brookfield group .

BBI shareholders are scheduled to vote on the Brookfield proposal on Monday. BBI has market value of just A$91 million, but what makes it attractive are the infrastructure assets worth about A$12.5 billion that it holds.

BBI has previously knocked back a recapitalization proposal from RBS, citing execution risks. It has also said the RBS proposal was unlikely to materially lower BBI's gearing.

BBI's troubles were sparked by the global financial crisis, which cut off its access to debt markets. BBI needs to cut its around A$9 billion in debt, with about A$3 billion of that maturing in stages by July 2011. BBI has said it risked insolvency without the recapitalization.

RBS, which acted on behalf of international hedge funds in the last recapitalization plan for BBI, declined comment. A BBI spokesman was unavailable to comment.

BBI's assets include Australia's biggest coal terminal, Dalrymple Bay, as well as ports, gas pipelines and railways in Australia and Britain's PD Ports.

(Reporting by Denny Thomas)