The latest twist in the country’s largest corporate deal comes as AustralianSuper confirmed it has increased its ownership of the power giant, building its stake to 15.03 per cent.
The North American consortium Brookfield/EIG is gearing up for a “full-throated” fight to convince the bulk of Origin Energy shareholders to support the $20 billion deal, which is teetering on the edge of defeat as EIG revealed Origin’s largest shareholder had talked of joining the bid it is now rejecting.
But the consortium has also upped the pressure on AusSuper, revealing a failed bid could lead to a plan B leaving the super fund stuck with shares in the natural gas assets it does not want while Brookfield walks away with the remaining assets. “I personally spoke to them and offered them the opportunity to participate in the EIG side of the transaction. They declined that offer,” Thomas said, adding this initial approach to AustralianSuper was made in March after Origin’s board signed a binding scheme implementation deed supporting the takeover.
AustralianSuper declined to comment further. The fund’s statement says it will be voting against the takeover scheme when it is put to shareholders on November 23.“AustralianSuper believes the ongoing energy transition, as we move towards net-zero by 2050,public or private,” the fund said. “Obviously, when you head into transactions like this big complicated M&A, there are always alternatives. There’s a plan B, there’s a plan C, and you know, we’ve negotiated some flexibility into our scheme documents with the company. If necessary, we’ll use that flexibility.”
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