No Recommendation on Takeover Bid Yet: Oz APA

Australian gas infrastructure firm APA June 29 said it has made no recommendation at this time on a takeover bid from a consortium led by Hong Kong-based CK Infrastructure Holdings.

“Given recent media speculation regarding APA and the consortium proposal, the board wanted to update all securityholders on the process and to reiterate that we have made no recommendation on the consortium proposal at this time,” APA said.

APA June 13 announced that the consortium has offered A$11.00 cash per share, almost 33% more than APA’s traded price on ASX the previous day.

“The board considered that it was in the best interests of APA’s securityholders to engage further with the consortium and allow due diligence on a non-exclusive basis. The consortium is still undertaking its due diligence process which will take some time to work through. If the proposal proceeds to a firm offer, it is likely to be subject to a number of conditions including government regulatory approvals,” APA said.

CK Infrastructure already owns Duet Group, which owns the Dampier to Bunbury gas pipeline in Western Australia. To avoid any competition concerns, CK Infrastructure led consortium has proposed a divestment package which would include APA’s interests in the Goldfields Gas Pipeline, Parmelia Gas Pipeline, Mondarra Gas Storage Facility and a standalone management team.