Cheung Kong to acquire Australian gas distributor for HK$17b

Envestra owns 23,000km of gas distribution networks.

A consortium comprising Cheung Kong Infrastructure (CKI), Cheung Kong Holdings (CKH) and Power Assets Holdings (PAH) submitted a non-binding takeover proposal to acquire all the shares of Envestra, a distributor of natural gas in Australia, at a cash consideration of AUD2.37bn (HK$17bn) or AUD1.32/share.

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The shares of Envestra are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. According to the company announcement, the proposed acquisition price represented a 16.8% premium to the closing price of AUD1.13/share on 7 May before the trading in the stock was suspended. 

The consortium intends to establish an entity in which each consortium member is expected to hold a one-third interest. Currently, Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings (Malaysian) Limited, a subsidiary of CKI, has a 17.46%. shareholding interest in Envestra. According to HKET, Envestra is one of the biggest gas distributors in Australia and owns 23,000km of gas distribution networks and 1,100km of long-distance transmission pipelines that supply gas to customers in the states of Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Northern Territory.