March was a dramatic month for AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL), but its share price didn't join in on the commotion.
AGL's stock gained just 2.66% over the course of last month. That's despite the company being hit with a sweetened takeover offer and the coming together of some of its renewable energy plans.
As of the final close of March, the AGL share price was trading at $7.72, just 20 cents higher than it was at the end of February.
For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index(ASX: XJO) gained 6.39% last month. That means the AGL share price underperformed the broader market by 3.73%.
Let's take a closer look at how AGL performed last month.
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What happened to AGL last month?
The AGL share price sunk earlier this month on the back of an increased – and quickly rejected – takeover offer.
The offer was posed by the private investment firm of Mike Cannon-Brookes – co-founder and co-CEO of software company, Atlassian – in partnership with Brookfield Asset Management.
Previously, the pair posed a $7.50 per share takeover bid for AGL in February. It was quickly rejected, with the AGL board stating it undervalued the company.
The takeover offer also highlighted an alternative future for the energy producer and retailer, with Cannon-Brookes vowing to stop AGL's planned demerger and fast track the closure of its coal-fired power stations.
On 7 March, the pair's bid for AGL was bumped to $8.25 per share. That was an 11% premium on the AGL share price's previous close.
However, Cannon-Brookes and Brookfield were once again shot down, with AGL's board believing the bid was still a lowball. Though, some of the company's major shareholders argued that more consideration should have been given to the sweetened offer.
The AGL share price slumped 1.75% the day the second bid was posed and rejected.
In non-market sensitive news, AGL announced it will build a $41 million battery in Broken Hill last month.
The battery will be partly funded with a grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). It is expected to help support the switch to renewable power.
Additionally, AGL was given the green light to install a grid-scale battery at the site of its Liddell coal-fired power station.
Liddell is expected to be shuttered in 2023. The process of closing the station began on Friday when the first of 4 units was powered down.
Finally, AGL made progress on its goal to better integrate electric vehicles (EVs) into Australia's electricity grid last month.
AGL share price snapshot
March wasn't a great month for the AGL share price. However, it's still outperforming in 2022.
At the end of last month, the energy company's stock was up 22% year to date.
Though, it's slipped 19% since this time last year.
