APA Group has announced that AusNet Services has agreed on the terms of a binding proposal and has entered into a Scheme Implementation Deed, under which Brookfield is to acquire all the shares in AusNet.

A non-binding indicative offer was submitted on 21 September 2021 by APA Group to AusNet. The offer was granted due diligence, following a decision by the Takeovers Panel that a “no talk” exclusivity arrangement with Brookfield agreed between AusNet and Brookfield be made subject to a “fiduciary out”.

AusNet owns and operates the bulk of Victoria’s transmission network infrastructure, as well as a large proportion of the state’s electricity and gas distribution network. The company is majority-owned by a consortium of Singapore Power (31.1%) and the State Grid Corporation of China (19.9%).