Brookfield submits new $10.6 bln proposal for Australia’s Origin Energy

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Illustration shows Brookfield Renewable logo

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 Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

SYDNEY, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Origin Energy (ORG.AX), Australia’s biggest energy retailer, said on Thursday it had received a revised $10.6 billion takeover bid from a Brookfield-led consortium that would allow institutional investors to remain invested in parts of the company.

A meeting in Sydney to vote on the original bid on Thursday has been delayed until Dec 4 to consider the new offer, the company said.

Investors had been widely expected to vote against the initial offer after Australian Super, which has a 16.5% stake in Origin, said it would vote no as it believed the offer substantially undervalues the company’s ability to profit from the shift to renewable energy.

Under the revised terms, the A$9.43 per share bid remains but some investors can stay invested in the energy markets business that would be owned by Brookfield.

Brookfield’s consortium partner EIG Partners would take on Origin’s integrated gas business which includes the 27.5% stake in Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG).

If that bid fails to achieve 75% shareholder support, a revised proposal has been lodged that would see Origin sell the energy markets business to Brookfield for A$12.3 billion ($8 billion).

In that case, EIG would make an off-market takeover offer for the rest of Origin, which would centre on the APLNG stake.

Origin shareholders would receive a total of $A9.08 per share, plus a A$0.22 franking credit dividend if EIG got up to 90.1% control of Origin.

The Brookfield consortium’s early November offer of A$6.59 and $1.86 in cash and a A$0.39 special dividend equated to A$9.53 per share, but foreign exchange volatility has pushed that down to the current level.

($1 = 1.5366 Australian dollars)

Reporting by Scott Murdoch and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Miral Fahmy and Lincoln Feast

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Scott Murdoch has been a journalist for more than two decades working for Thomson Reuters and News Corp in Australia. He has specialised in financial journalism for most of his career and covers equity and debt capital markets across Asia and Australian M&A. He is based in Sydney.

Reports on breaking news in Australia and New Zealand covering the biggest stories across politics, companies and commodities. Previously wrote about equities at Morningstar.

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