Global ‘Green’ Investor Lobs $18 Billion Bid for Major Energy Firm to Speed up Net-Zero

A supplied image obtained on Nov. 27, 2020, of a wind farm at Granville Harbour in Tasmania, Australia. AAP Image/Courtesy of Granville Harbour Wind Farm

One of the world’s largest “alternative” asset managers, Brookfield has lobbed an $18.4 billion (US$11.82 billion) takeover of one of Australia’s largest energy suppliers in a move likely to hasten the country’s net zero push.

Headquartered in Toronto, Brookfield Asset Management has put a combined bid along with its affiliates to buy out Sydney-based Origin Energy at $9.00 per share, a 54.9 percent premium on its share price on Nov. 9.

Brookfield currently has $80 billion invested in Australia and is promising an additional $20 billion.

“Brookfield has the global renewable power expertise and access to capital to support Origin’s transition strategy,” said Stewart Upson, CEO of Brookfield’s Asia Pacific.

An Origin Energy power bill is pictured in Brisbane, Australia on June 8, 2018. AAP Image/Dan Peled

“Our business plan includes an additional investment of $20 billion by 2030 to build the required renewable capacity and storage and position Origin as Australia’s leading ‘greentailer.’”

Scott Perkins, chair of Origin Energy, said the company was “well-placed” to benefit from the net-zero transition.

“While the due diligence process advances, we will remain focussed on the successful execution of our strategy,” he said in a statement.

Corporate Australia Under Pressure

The Canadian Brookfield has previously partnered with tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes in an attempt to buy out another major Australian energy company AGL to speed up the energy transition. The offer was withdrawn weeks later.

Yet Cannon-Brookes has not given up on AGL and will influence the selection of new board members at the next annual general meeting while holding just 11 percent of the company’s shares.

The combined pressure from climate corporate activism on Australian energy providers will usher in major investments in renewable generators like solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage.

However, one of the primary concerns is whether an electricity grid backed largely by intermittent energy sources—meaning they are dependent on weather—can support the needs of Australian households and businesses.

In fact, the CEO of major snack food supplier, SnackBrands, said his company estimates they would need 250 acres of solar panels to replace their current gas usage while providing just six hours of power a day—less if it’s a cloudy day.

While other experts say, the state of the environment has been misrepresented by climate change activists to give the public the impression the situation is worse than it actually is.

California-based eco-modernist Michael Shellenberger says the environment is, in fact, in the best shape ever, noting there was more coral in the Great Barrier Reef for the past 36 years. At the same time, the area of land burned by forest fires had declined by 25 percent globally since 2003—an area the size of Texas.

“The death rate from natural disasters has crashed; we have four times as many people as we did in the world 100 years ago. The death toll has declined about 90 percent in the United States,” he told CPAC Australia.