Origin Energy Ltd. says the Brookfield Asset Management-led A$18.4 billion ($12.3 billion) bid for the company is on track to be completed in the new year, easing concerns the deal would be derailed by government intervention in the Australian gas market.
(Bloomberg) — Origin Energy Ltd. says the Brookfield Asset Management-led A$18.4 billion ($12.3 billion) bid for the company is on track to be completed in the new year, easing concerns the deal would be derailed by government intervention in the Australian gas market.
Due diligence will be extended to Jan. 16, with a final binding deal expected after that, Origin said in a regulatory filing Wednesday. Its shares were 6% higher in Sydney as at 10:35 a.m. local time.
“The consortium has confirmed that it is on track to complete its due diligence early in the new year, it has not identified any material adverse matters to date, and it continues to work on confirming its indicative proposal,” Origin said. Brookfield declined to comment.
Read more: Unprecedented Price Caps Pit Australia’s Leader Against Big Gas
Under the deal, announced in November, Brookfield would take Origin’s large utility business and de-list it, while US-based EIG Global Energy Partners would take its gas production business.
Questions were raised in the media about the future of the deal earlier this month when the Australian government said it would cap domestic gas prices at A$12 per gigajoule for 12 months. It also gave itself permanent powers to set prices at its own discretion beyond the 12-month period, an intervention the gas sector said would stall investment.
(Updated to include share price movement)
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