Chanticleer

Why Infratil knocked back AusSuper

Infratil's emphatic rejection of AusSuper's $5.1 billion takeover bid speaks to the white hot demand for tech and renewables.

Updated Dec 9, 2020 – 4.38pm, first published at 10.07am

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There’s an air of disdain about Infratil’s rejection of AustralianSuper’s $NZ5.4 billion ($5.1 billion) takeover bid that Australians haven’t felt from their Kiwi cousins since Trevor Chappell bowled that infamous underarm delivery in 1981.

In a polite but terse statement released to the NZX and ASX on Wednesday morning, Infratil revealed AusSuper had in fact made two approaches – the first on October 18 was pitched at $NZ6.40 a share and the second, delivered on November 27, was worth $7.43 a share, a 22.2 per cent premium to Infratil’s closing price on Tuesday.

James Thomson is senior Chanticleer columnist based in Melbourne. He was the Companies editor and editor of BRW Magazine.