Trading frenzy in Origin Energy shares; eyes on AustralianSuper

afr.com:

Plenty of action at Origin Energy, even beyond the stoush between the energy giant and its largest shareholder AustralianSuper.

Origin chair Scott Perkins. Dominic Lorrimer

Nearly 44 million shares in Origin had changed hand by market close on Thursday, which is a 326 per cent jump from the previous day. A big line of Origin shares, worth $199 million was traded just before the opening bell at $8.74 apiece, but the buying continued in smaller parcels throughout the trading day. By 5pm, nearly 75 million shares – or 4 per cent of the company – had turned over.

As for the buyers? The most active was AustralianSuper, which has made its dislike of a near-$20 billion takeover bid from EIG and Brookfield apparent. The powerful pension fund still has some headroom between its 15 per cent stake and the 19.99 per cent maximum permissible without lobbing a bid. It’s hellbent on blocking the takeover – so why not scoop up more shares ahead of the scheme meeting on November 23?

Of course, Origin Energy’s the main game in corporate Australia with all eyes on what EIG and Brookfield serve up as an alternative to their scheme bid. And that gets tougher to land every time AustralianSuper buys more shares.

To be fair, it’s not just AustralianSuper. Every institution with a holding in Origin Energy would be driving up trading volumes ahead of the vote in a fortnight’s time. Most international clients, for example, hold the shares on swap but need to transfer to physical before they can vote.

That’s to make sure they have a seat on the table for what’s shaping as one of the most protracted and charged M&A situations we’ve seen recently.

Expect to see a substantial shareholder notice from AustralianSuper in the coming days.