Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes may have been making solo efforts on Monday night to amass up to 11.5 per cent of AGL Energy, but some aren’t convinced his former co-bidder for the energy giant, Brookfield, is out of the action.
The 11.28 per cent interest he acquired is by no means a blocking stake, so some believe Brookfield must also own some stock, with an interest of less than 5 per cent.
Brookfield and Mr Cannon-Brookes’ company Grok Ventures teamed up to bid for AGL earlier this year, with two offers for the company.
But after their last $5.4bn bid, the price has run away from them, and the company is now worth $5.8bn.
Most believe it vindicates the board’s decision to reject the earlier proposals – the first at $7.50 a share and the second at $8.25 a share.
Shares in AGL closed at $8.62 on Monday.
There is a strong view in the market that a privatisation would be unlikely to gain regulatory approval at a time when energy security remains in focus thanks to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The efforts to buy up to 11.5 per cent of the shares on Monday night were being made through investment bank JPMorgan, as part of a strategic derivative transaction for the stake worth about $670m.
Mr Cannon-Brookes’ private family office is run by a former executive at the US-based investment bank, which may be the reason that it won the mandate.
Others close to the deal, however, are adamant Brookfield is not involved.
Grok announced on Monday night it had purchased 11.28 per cent after earlier indicating it would buy up to 11.5 per cent.
In March, the consortium said that it had walked away from the target.
The consortium’s attempt to buy AGL came ahead of a planned demerger of the energy company’s coal-related assets by the middle of this year, and before a major rally in the oil and gas prices.
Shares had fallen at a time that investors were losing patience with the company over its performance.
In the demerger vote, shareholders will decide whether to turn AGL into two companies – a green retailer named AGL Australia that aimed to be carbon-neutral by 2040, and a coal-dominated generator, Accel Energy, targeting net-zero emissions by 2047.
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