AustralianSuper buying Origin Energy shares, Macquarie on board

Origin Energy is at the centre of a battle between suitors Brookfield and EIG and major shareholder AustralianSuper. Picture: Ian Waldie, Bloomberg

AustralianSuper is amassing more shares in Origin Energy after rebuffing an improved offer for the energy retailer and producer from Brookfield and EIG that valued the company at $16bn.

The country’s largest super fund had a stake of 13.67 per cent in the business, but after market on Thursday, it was buying up to 21 million shares, or 1.2 per cent of Origin’s shares on issue, outlaying up to $182m.

Shares were being purchased through a book build, with a maximum acquisition price of $8.65 per share.

Working on the raid for the superannuation fund is Macquarie Capital.

The maximum acquisition price was a 2.1 per cent premium to the last closing price of $8.47 on Thursday.

Shareholders are to make offers for the shares in 5c increments, with the book build to close on Thursday night at 7.30pm AEDT.

It comes after Origin Energy’s suitors, Brookfield and EIG, increased their offer for the Australian energy company by $1.2bn, or 8.2 per cent, to $16.4bn or $9.53 per share from $8.81 on Thursday.

But it was not enough to please AustralianSuper, which continued to flag its intention to vote against the scheme of arrangement on November 23.

Sources were describing the raid on the stock as an aggressive move by AustralianSuper, demonstrating it was clearly trying to block a deal going through.

Advisers on the transaction were still hoping on Thursday that a deal would get up, with three quarters of shares voting needing to be in favour of the transaction for it to succeed.

But with AustralianSuper blocking the transaction, most believed it would be unlikely to get over the line.

The bidders declared the offer “Best and Final” and some suspect the Plan B for the bidders could be to come back later with a Takeover Bid, where they can buy shares directly on the market, but this would need to be at a lower price, as they would not be able to get the same funding package.

Also, the plan was to split the company’s gas operations off and hand them to EIG, which would be more complicated to do if it was still listed.

It comes as another block trade was unfolding on Thursday night after the market closed, with the companies that floated Ventia Services Group, Apollo and CIMIC, selling an 11.7 per cent interest in the business at $2.71 per share, equating to a block trade worth $270m and at a 1.5 per cent discount to the company’s last closing share price of $2.75.

Working on the trade was Barrenjoey and JPMorgan.