The company of Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes is making efforts to raid the share register of AGL Energy through investment bank JPMorgan.
It is understood that his Grok Ventures is looking to acquire up to 11.5 per cent in AGL as part of a strategic derivative transaction, currently worth around $700m.
Grok said in a statement that should it elect to proceed with the transaction, it would announce its interest in AGL before the opening of trade on Tuesday.
A little live snap from my walk - the sun setting over the Highlands.
— Mike Cannon-Brookes 👨ðŸ¼â€ðŸ’»ðŸ§¢ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡º (@mcannonbrookes) May 2, 2022
Stunning country we’re lucky enough to live in. Let’s keep it that way.
Happy Monday. Have a kick ass week 😉 pic.twitter.com/TaKkCGdn6F
The move comes after Grok Ventures joined Brookfield earlier this year to launch a buyout proposal for the $5.8bn AGL Energy.
The offer was sweetened from $7.50 per share to $8.25 per share, but it was rejected.
AGL’s share price has since rallied to $8.62 and its value is now higher than the offer that was on the table, worth $5.4bn, excluding debt.
In March, the consortium said that they had walked away from the target.
Shareholders in the 180-year-old electricity company in June are set to vote on a plan to split it into two companies: a green retailer named AGL Australia seeking to be fully carbon-neutral by 2040, and a coal-dominated generator, Accel Energy, targeting net-zero emissions by 2047.
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