While Brookfield and EIG plan to split Origin’s assets between them,their bid still needs the approval of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The takeover offer is also conditional on the support of Origin shareholders and approvals from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).
Brookfield already holds significant stakes in the local energy infrastructure. The investment fund successfully took ownership of Victorian electricity operator AusNet last year as part of a consortium that included Sunsuper and a host of Canadian pension funds. It also holds a 50 per cent stake in the smart metering business Intellihub.
“The ACCC has been contacted by Brookfield and Origin in relation to their announcement and expects to conduct a public review once it has received a submission. The ACCC will carefully consider any likely competitive impacts resulting from the proposed acquisition,” the competition regulator said on Tuesday.
Brookfield,which is seeking to acquire Origin’s domestic energy generation and retail business,has played the national interest card in its bid to allay the ACCC’s concerns,arguing that its investment in replacing Origin’s existing infrastructure with renewables will help Australia meet its stated emissions reduction target.
According to Brookfield,its promised investment would represent one-fifth of the renewable energy capacity needed by the market to meet 2030 carbon reduction targets.
“The acquisition of Origin Energy presents Brookfield with a unique opportunity to invest at least $20 billion and make a material difference to achieving Australia’s net-zero targets,” Brookfield Asia Pacific chief Stewart Upson said.