The market may be pushing higher today, but the same cannot be said for Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) shares.
In afternoon trade, the energy giant's shares are down 7% to $8.41.
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Why are Origin shares being sold off?
This morning, as we covered here, Origin received an improved, best and final takeover offer from the Brookfield-led consortium of investors and EIG.
An offer of $9.53 per share was tabled, which was up 8.2% from the original offer of $8.81 per share.
The consortium appears to have lifted its offer in an attempt to appease AustralianSuper, which had stated its intention to reject the offer. Given its position as Origin's largest shareholder, there's a danger that without its support, a deal might be hard to get over the line.
This is similar to what we saw with Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) recently when Gina Rinehart built a blocking stake, causing the takeover to collapse.
AustralianSuper rejects new offer
This afternoon, AustralianSuper put out an announcement revealing that this new offer would not be enough for it to part with its Origin shares. The super fund commented:
AustralianSuper intends to vote its shares in Origin Energy (Origin) against the best and final offer from the Brookfield and EIG-backed consortium announced today. The offer from the consortium remains substantially below our estimate of Origin's long-term value.
As per our statement from earlier this week, AustralianSuper believes Origin has a highly strategic portfolio of assets to participate in, and benefit from, the energy transition.
AustralianSuper believes the ongoing energy transition, as we move towards net zero by 2050, has further enhanced the value of strategic energy transition platforms, such as Origin, whether public or private.
Finally, it is worth noting that Brookfield and co. have included an off-market takeover clause now, which could make things interesting in the coming weeks and months.
