AustralianSuper rejects Origin Energy buyout offer
AustralianSuper, the largest shareholder in Australia’s Origin Energy, on October 31 rejected the buyout offer from a consortium of Brookfield Asset Management and MidOcean Energy, a unit of EIG. The pension fund said that the A$18.7bn ($12bn) offer was "substantially below" its estimate of long-term value for Origin.
“The current offer from the Brookfield and EIG-backed consortium remains substantially below our estimate of Origin’s long-term value,” it said in a statement. “AustralianSuper believes the ongoing energy transition, as we move towards net zero by 2050, has further enhanced the value of strategic energy transition platforms, such as Origin.”
|
Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. |
Last month, AustralianSuper increased its stake in Origin by 1.02%, taking its total shareholding to 13.67% - making the fund the company's biggest shareholder.
AustralianSuper's rejection of the offer casts doubt on the future of the takeover. The deal requires 75% support from the votes cast at a shareholder meeting, and it is unlikely to succeed without the support of AustralianSuper and other major shareholders.
The takeover, if successful, would see Brookfield acquire Origin's energy markets business and MidOcean acquire the integrated gas business including a 27.5% interest in Queensland-based Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG). APLNG is the largest producer of coalbed methane in Australia and supplies gas to Queensland's domestic gas market, while also processing CBM into LNG for exports.
The deal was approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) earlier this month.