The company expects to reduce its operating costs by more than 50 per cent by the end of 2010 and pay off more than half of its $3.1 billion debt burden by 2011.
It has begun talks with its bankers about altering the covenants attached to the corporate debt facilities because the tough market means it will be hard to meet them in the short term.
The asset manager on Wednesday announced it had decided to narrow its focus from an earlier plan to keep its real estate and leasing business as well as infrastructure.
The real estate and operating leasing arms will now be sold off, as market conditions permit, adding to a divestment plan that already includes non-core assets.
"We have considerable infrastructure opportunities across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, and a strong global platform as a specialist infrastructure funds manager, asset originator and developer," chief executive Michael Larkin said.
"By segregating the infrastructure investment business, it should be well placed to return to growth."
B&B said it would ramp up its workforce reduction plan and cut staff numbers to 600 in 2010, from a current 1,450, through redundancies and transfers to new owners of sold operations.
B&B has been reviewing its operations and future since June, as it struggles to repay the $3.1 billion of debt built up to feed its growth.
The company ran into difficultly earlier this year as investors, spooked about firms with high debt and declining asset values related to equity market plunges, punished its shares.
The stock closed on Wednesday at 25 cents, down six cents. It had traded at a high of $15.90 in June.
B&B's listed and unlisted infrastructure funds own wind, thermal and solar power, social infrastructure,transport, energy transmission and distribution assets.
The company expects to have its new, slimmed down structure in place by mid-2009.
It said businesses and assets outside infrastructure would in the meantime be managed to preserves value and prepare them for sale.
"The real estate and operating leasing businesses have quality platforms and assets in their own right and will benefit from orderly sale to investors or existing operators focused on those sectors," Larkin said.
"We have already had a number of discussions with investors and operators interested in these platforms.
"These discussions are ongoing."
B&B said there was no set timetable for the sale of the businesses.
The company says talks with its bankers about restructuring its $3.1 billion in corporate debt facilities are continuing.
B&B is seeking changes to the financial covenants, which it says it "will find difficult to meet in the near term given the continuing and substantial deterioration in market conditions".
"Discussions with the banks regarding these changes are ongoing and may not be concluded before the end of December this year," B&B said.
B&B said on Wednesday that it had advised its banking syndicate that its restructure plan was expected to help repay more than 50 per cent of those facilities by 2011.
Apart from cutting staff, B&B expects to lower its operating costs by more than 50 per cent, or more than $150 million, by the end of 2010.
