Miniatures of windmill, solar panel and electric pole are seen in front of Brookfield Renewable logo in this illustration taken January 17, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoBrookfield bid was final in absence of a rival offer
AustralianSuper said in a statement the consortium’s A$9.53 per share offer, an 8% increase over the previous A$8.81 apiece bid, remained “substantially below” its estimate of Origin’s long-term value.
Origin shares plunged as much as 5.6% to A$8.565 in high-volume trading following the news, as AustralianSuper’s 13.68% holding could scupper a deal that requires approval from 75% of the register if not all investors vote., which also includes EIG’s MidOcean Energy, said the increased offer was its “best and final” proposal, meaning it cannot be increased unless a rival offer emerged. headtopics.com
“If AustralianSuper is rejecting it, the likelihood of the deal going ahead is very low,” said Jamie Hannah, deputy head of investments and capital markets at VanEck, which owns a 0.3% stake in Origin. “I think the deal is back at the drawing board at the moment.”
The rejection put AustralianSuper at odds with Origin’s board, which said on Thursday it unanimously recommended shareholders vote in favour of the revised deal in the absence of a superior proposal. Brookfield Asia Pacific CEO Stewart Upson said the consortium planned to invest $A20 billion to A$30 billion in Origin in the next decade to fund the company’s energy transition to achieve net zero emissions on a greater scale and speed. headtopics.com