An eleventh-hour effort by Origin Energy ’s two North American suitors to overcome the stubborn opposition of Origin’s biggest shareholder, AustralianSuper, to their $20 billion takeover by bringing it into the bid consortium has foundered just hours after the offer was made. The industry fund, which owns 15.03 per cent of Origin, dug in on its position, swiftly rejecting the option extended by Brookfield and EIG on Monday morning and leaving the disputed deal at serious risk of collapse.
Origin Energy CEO Frank Calabria is recommending shareholders vote for the deal. The Canadian infrastructure giant and its US-based partner wrote to AusSuper offering it a slice of the deal, a position being led by head of Australian equities Shaun Manuell. That overture was rejected within a couple of hours by AusSuper, which on Monday afternoon reiterated it will vote against the deal. An earlier approach is understood to have been made to AusSuper in August – as part of on-off contacts between the bidders and Origin’s No
Source: Energy Industry News (energyindustrynews.net)
Origin Energy Takeover Bid Australiansuper Opposition Shareholders Collapse