Brookfield Financial News

Bruce Flatt has his eye on ways for Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. to scoop up premium properties that other owners loaded with too much debt.

Origin Energy Ltd. rejected a A$19.1 billion (US$12.8 billion) Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.-led takeover, after the fund’s yearlong pursuit of a utility that’s vital to Australia’s energy transition.

By Scott Murdoch

Canadian private capital group Brookfield has raised a record-sized US$28 billion infrastructure fund as institutional investors plough cash into strategies they expect will benefit from higher interest rates and a shift away from globalization.

Origin Energy Ltd.’s top investor rejected a revised A$19.1 billion (US$12.5 billion) takeover plan by a Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.-led group, casting the year-long pursuit into new doubt.

By Scott Murdoch and Lewis Jackson

By Lewis Jackson

Canada’s Brookfield says AustralianSuper must be factoring in higher energy prices for consumers and running Origin Energy’s coal-fired power station for longer in its finding that the $20 billion takeover bid from Brookfield and partner EIG undervalues Origin.

Origin Energy’s carbon emission intensity will be reduced by 80 per cent in the next seven years if shareholders approve a near-$20 billion sale of the electricity and gas utility to a consortium of private equity firms.

₹346.7 crore in the September quarter. The company recorded a 24% jump in the operating income to ₹592 crore for the first half of FY24 (April-September). The company's income from operating lease rentals grew 33% YoY to Rs.

Brookfield India Real Estate Trust has leased over 5.21 lakh sq ft office space including 4.63 lakh sq ft of new leasing during the quarter ended September. Of this, the listed Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) has leased over 3.18 lakh sq ft in its Special Economic Zone (SEZ) assets with 2.20 lakh sq ft of expansion demand from existing occupiers. Around 37% of the office space was leased to Global Capability Centers (GCCs).

Brookfield and EIG are ramping up their campaign to convince Origin Energy shareholders of the merits of their sweetened $20 billion takeover offer, in an effort to secure the 75 per cent support they need despite opposition from the major electricity and gas supplier’s biggest investor.

Brookfield Properties, global real estate services company of Brookfield Asset Management, has refinanced debt worth Rs 2,100 crore that was raised against its commercial property Equinox Business Park in Mumbai. The property services company has raised the funds from Punjab National Bank to refinance its earlier debt facility that was extended by Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) in two separate tranches in 2018 and 2020. HDFC was recently merged with HDFC Bank. Of both the facilities, HDFC had extended debt worth Rs 2,000 in 2018 under lease rental discounting (LRD) for a tenure of 180 months at 8.70% interest rate.

Brookfield Asset Management is cashed up and hunting big-ticket infrastructure debt deals down under.

Origin Energy's largest shareholder on Thursday said it would vote against a «best and final» A$16.40 billion ($10.55 billion) offer from a Brookfield consortium for Australia's biggest energy retailer, throwing the deal's future into doubt. AustralianSuper said in a statement the consortium's A$9.53 per share offer, an 8% increase over the previous A$8.81 apiece bid, remained «substantially below» its estimate of Origin's long-term value. «AustralianSuper believes Origin has a highly strategic portfolio of assets to participate in, and benefit from, the energy transition,» a spokesperson said. Origin shares plunged as much as 5.6% to A$8.565 in high-volume trading following the news, as AustralianSuper's 13.68% holding could scupper a deal that requires approval from 75% of the register if not all investors vote. Hours earlier, the consortium led by Canada's Brookfield, which also includes EIG's MidOcean Energy, said the increased offer was its «best and final» proposal, meaning it cannot be increased unless a rival offer emerged. Brookfield did not respond immediately to a request for comment after AustralianSuper's announcement. AustralianSuper, the country's largest pension fund with A$300 billion in assets, on Tuesday had already rejected the prior offer, saying it was «substantially below» its estimate of long-term value as the country moves toward net-zero emissions by 2050. «If AustralianSuper is rejecting it, the likelihood of the deal going ahead is very low,» said Jamie Hannah, deputy head of investments and capital markets at VanEck, which owns a 0.3% stake in Origin. «I think the deal is back at the drawing board at the moment.» Should the deal fail at the shareholder vote scheduled for Nov.

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's Origin Energy said on Thursday it had received a sweetened takeover bid from a Brookfield consortium, valuing the power producer at A$16.40 billion ($10.49 billion), days after its top shareholder rejected the previous offer.

Brookfield-led consortium's A$15.35 billion ($9.78 billion) takeover offer for Origin Energy Ltd, casting doubt on the future of the bid. Origin Energy's largest shareholder, the A$300 billion AustralianSuper, owns a 13.68% stake and said the offer was «substantially below» its estimate of long-term value for Australia's biggest energy retailer. Origin shares were down 0.4% in early trade on Tuesday at A$9.13 each, which was above the $A8.81 offer price. The deal requires 75% support from the votes cast at a shareholder meeting, meaning AustralianSuper's holding could be enough to scupper the bid if not all shareholders vote. The high-profile intervention into one of the biggest takeovers this year comes as Australia's A$2.4 trillion pension sector increasingly flexes its muscle at home and overseas thanks to its burgeoning size in financial markets. Brookfield-consortium's offer price of A$8.81 per share has been deemed fair by an independent expert's report, however, it outlined a «roll forward» calculation that says Origin's shares could be worth an additional 40 Australian cents by the time a potential takeover is due to occur. The Brookfield-led consortium has given no indications publicly it is considering upping the value of its bid ahead of a shareholder vote planned for 23 November. However, AustralianSuper is not alone in its reservations over the price. Fund manager Perpetual told media last month the deal undervalued the energy company.

Lenders are backing Australia’s retirement living sector.

Embassy Office Parks REIT: The brokerage is bullish on the stock with a target price of ₹340, indicating an upside of almost 11 percent. The growth drivers for Embassy are an expansion of operational area (6.9msf to be commissioned by FY26E), contractual rent escalations (12-15 percent increases every 3 years), reversion of rentals to market levels (11-29 percent higher), and lease-up of vacant offices, said the brokerage. Embassy Office Parks REIT owns Asia’s largest office portfolio on a leasable area basis, which is currently at 45.0msf (34.3msf operational, development pipeline of 7.9msf & 2.8msf of forthcoming projects).

Warburg Pincus will acquire Everise, a leading global healthcare services outsourcing company, from its existing investor Brookfield, said a company press release. Warburg Pincus’ investment values the company at around $1 billion and Brookfield will retain a minority stake. Further details of the stake buyout is not disclosed. Warburg Pincus is in advanced negotiations to acquire Everise Holdings, a Delaware-registered outsourcing company, ET first reported on 28 July. ET first reported in May on Warburg Pincus' interest in Everise.

AustralianSuper might be trying to spoil Brookfield’s $18.7 billion takeover offer for Origin Energy, but it’s business as usual at the Canadian infrastructure giant.