Victor Li-led consortium launches USD 9.8 bln bid for Australian gas giant.

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Jun 13, 2018 (China Knowledge) - Hong Kong consortium led by CK Infrastructure Holdings (CKI) has launched a A$13 billion (USD 9.8 billion) bid to takeover Australian gas pipeline operator APA Group, whose pipelines is dispersed across every state on Mainland Australia.

The Australian gas pipeline operator announced it has received an unsolicited bid from CK Infrastrcuture Holdings, CK Asset Holdings Ltd and Power Asset Holdings Ltd, that includes an offer of AUD 11.00 per share on 13th June 2018. APA Group is currently the world's most richly-valued gas utility, based on current-year forward price-earnings ratio.

The takeover of APA Group, Australia's largest gas pipeline company with a market value of AUD 11.8 billion (USD 8.90 billion) is subject to regulatory approvals by Foreign Investment Review Board. The country's gas sector is being closely monitored as the country continues to battle with rising domestic natural gas prices. The proliferation of natural gas sector is intended to close the electricity supply gap resulting from the closure of coal-fired stations and shift to cleaner energy like solar power. However, rising exports to overseas markets create local shortages. Australia currently ranks as world's highest power prices, following the country's...