EIG, Origin held talks for a year over $2bn APLNG deal - EIG will support Harbour Energy27 Oct 2021 17:43
[The deal has been already done by EIG and Origin Energy. EIG is our biggest institutional investor.
PLEASE STOP MOANING ABOUT HARBOUR SHARES. We will be up sooner or later. Cheers.NoFear(*__*)
Private equity firm EIG Partners is understood to have held talks with Origin Energy about a year ago over selling a 10 per cent stake in the Australia Pacific LNG operation.
Origin announced on Monday that EIG is paying $2.12bn for a 10 per cent interest, with investment bank Morgan Stanley advising EIG.
The deal will now see APLNG held 37.5 per cent by ConocoPhillips, 27.5 per cent by Origin, Sinopec with 25 per cent and EIG with 10 per cent.
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Origin retains its existing seats on the APLNG board and EIG will have one board seat, and Origin will remain as the operator for the asset.
DataRoom understands that Origin has been mulling over the transaction for about a year and it comes amid booming conditions for mergers and acquisitions in the energy and infrastructure space.
EIG invests in oil and gas opportunities globally and is the group that made a $14.5bn unsuccessful bid for Santos in 2018 through Harbour Energy, of which it is a backer.
It is understood that EIG, which counts former Shell executive Linda Cook as its senior advisor, has been scouring opportunities in the Australian oil and gas space since, but has not had any success in finding the right assets to buy in what is a tightly held market.
EIG and Noble Group founded Harbour Energy, now listed on the London Stock Exchange, but EIG remains a major shareholder.
Harbour Energy owns assets in the North Sea, purchased for more than $US5.7bn.
Origin Energy investors are backing the transaction, with shares closing up almost 4 per cent on Monday to $5.38.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/dataroom/eig-origin-held-talks-for-a-year-over-2bn-aplng-deal/news-story/2797d0fe75af30495982e622a7070df9