Throughout his buying binge this year, Australian Pipeline Trust chief executive Mick McCormack has insisted everything he's done has been independent of the expectation that Alinta will make a takeover bid for his company.

Yesterday, McCormack again insisted that the $521 million acquisition of Queensland gas distributor Allgas was not a "poison pill" to make it harder for an Alinta bid, but was part of a growth strategy devised long ago.