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Brookfield’s $12 Billion Origin Takeover Wins More Proxy Support


These translations are done via Google Translate
Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.’s A$19.4 billion ($12.4 billion) contested takeover offer for Origin Energy Ltd. won more advisory firm support ahead of a key vote on the deal.

The A$9.53 per share proposal by Brookfield and partners including EIG Global Energy Partners “offers investors certainty of value at a level that is within a reasonable range,” CGI Glass Lewis said in a note to clients.Origin’s largest shareholder AustralianSuper opposes the deal, arguing the price is well below the Sydney-based utility’s long-term value. Australia’s biggest pension fund last week raised its holding to about 15%.

A block of 22.8 million shares in Origin, equivalent to 1.3% of the company’s float, traded Thursday at a market value of about A$199 million. AustralianSuper declined to comment on whether it had purchased the stake.


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Though there’s some merit to AustralianSuper’s view that an independent expert’s valuation of Origin is too low, the fund’s opposition relies on a “fundamentally more positive outlook with respect to long-term value,” CGI Glass Lewis said in its report, recommending investors vote in favor of the deal at a Nov. 23 meeting.

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The proxy firm follows Institutional Shareholder Services, which this week also recommended investors back the Brookfield-led offer.

Origin shares rose as much as 1.6% to A$8.88 in Sydney trading Thursday as of 1:20 p.m. local time.

Australian rules require a minimum of 75% of participating shareholders to approve a takeover offer, meaning 15% opposition has usually proved sufficient to block a deal as typically not all retail investors will cast a ballot.

Brookfield is seeking to add Origin to gain more exposure to Australia’s energy transition, and intends to spend as much as A$30 billion over 10 years to accelerate the utility’s shift from fossil fuels to cleaner energy.

(Updates with AustralianSuper declined to comment, share prices)


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