Origin Energy to Release Report Used to Defend Hostile BG Bid

By Robert Fenner

Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Origin Energy Ltd., Australia's biggest producer of coal-seam gas, will release the full report it used to defend against BG Group Plc's lapsed A$13.5 billion ($10.9 billion) hostile takeover offer.

The report, which Origin commissioned from Grant Samuel & Associates Pty, valued the Sydney-based company at between A$28.55 and A$30.71 a share. Reading, England-based BG had offered A$15.37 a share. Origin shares closed Friday at A$17.01.

``The valuation is quite consistent with our own internal view,'' Origin Chief Executive Officer Grant King told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. ``Therefore, from a management perspective that's what we think the company is worth.''

BG, the U.K.'s third-biggest oil and gas company, let its offer lapse last week after the Australian company attracted an investment of as much as $8 billion from ConocoPhillips for a liquefied natural gas joint venture.

The agreement for Houston-based ConocoPhillips to acquire a 50 percent stake in Origin's coal-seam gas unit needs approval from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board and may be completed in late October, Origin said Sept. 8.

Grant Samuel valued Origin's coal-seam gas unit alone at between A$18.70 and A$19.49 a share, more than BG offered for all of the company, which is also Australia's second-biggest electricity and gas retailer.

ConocoPhillips, the second-biggest U.S. oil refiner, will make an initial $5 billion payment to buy into the venture, which will process coal-seam gas into LNG for export to Asia.

The venture plans to initially build two liquefied natural gas production units, each with a capacity of 3.5 million metric tons a year, with deliveries scheduled to start by 2014.

No decision has been made on where to put the plant, and Origin may pool its facilities with other LNG exporters into a joint site, King said today.

``There clearly will be economics of co-operation there,'' King said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Fenner in Melbourne rfenner@bloomberg.net