Tuesday, October 28, 2008

BG Group to buy Australian firm


British energy firm BG Group has agreed a takeover bid for Australian gas producer Queensland Gas Co worth 5.6bn Australian dollars ($3.4bn; £2.2bn).

The move is BG Group's most recent attempt to expand in the Asia-Pacific region after it abandoned an attempt to take over Origin Energy in September.

Under the terms of the offer, BG Group will pay A$5.75 in cash for every QGC share it does not already own.

The British company already owns some 10% of the Australian firm.

The deal was unanimously recommended to shareholders by QGC's directors and its largest shareholder - AGL Energy, which holds a 25% stake - has already announced it has accepted the offer.

The offer has a 15 December deadline.

Last month, BG Group dropped its plans to take over Australia's second-largest power retailer, Origin Energy.

Origin instead announced it would embark on a natural gas joint venture with US energy company ConocoPhillips worth A$9.6bn.

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