R Cottee has been here before !

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arc...s/news-story/df902986f21bdfc1b65869c0c5237fd8

BG in $5 billion takeover move on Queensland Gas

BRITAIN'S BG Group will offer as much as $5 billion to take over Australian partner
Queensland Gas.

The move shows that global energy giants continue to jostle for the nation's vast coal seam gas reserves.

In a dramatic development in the race to build a CSG industry in eastern Australia, it is understood QGC's board will recommend the BG bid to shareholders early next week and that AGL Energy has agreed to sell its 24.9per cent stake in QGC into the offer.
BG, which already owns 9 per cent of QGC and has its foot on 20 per cent of its CSG reserves, is keen to secure more supplies for its ambitious plan to export gas through the central Queensland port of Gladstone. The project is a joint venture with QGC.

The offer for QGC comes after BG failed in its $13.7 billion hostile bid for Origin Energy, owner of the nation's biggest CSG reserves.

It also reveals that the global financial meltdown has not dented BG's optimism about Asian demand for liquefied natural gas.

Based on the assumption that QGC boss Richard Cottee would not sell his gas reserves for less than QGC's recent purchases, the sale price would be $5.10 a share or more, which would be at least a 60 per cent premium to the last traded share price of $3.20.

The offer is conditional on Foreign Investment Review Board approval and, if successful, would make BG the only 100 per cent owner of CSG reserves and a planned LNG plant in Queensland.

The three other planned LNG plants and reserves are joint ventures between Conoco Phillips and Origin, Santos and Petronas, and Shell and Arrow Energy. The offer could open QGC up to rival bids from other global majors, such as Shell or BP looking to enter or increase their presence in CSG. BG's ability to move to a 19.9 per cent stake in QGC and competition issues for existing players could provide hurdles.
QGC and AGL both went into a trading halt yesterday pending announcement of a material transaction.

Shareholders of Sunshine Gas and Roma Petroleum, whose shares also went into a trading halt, were advised to take no action on QGC's current separate bids for each company. Wilson HTM analyst Andrew Pedler said it was not surprising that the bigplayers were still pushing to get hold of CSG reserves amid global market turmoil and fears of recession.
"There's no other apparent major source of new gas on the east coast and domestic use alone is pointing to compound annual growth rates of between 7 and 10 per cent for coal seam gas, which is an attractive business to be exposed to," Mr Pedler said.
"Add LNG to that and you easily double the amount of gas that's required in 2014."
QGC, BG and AGL all declined to comment or confirm the deal yesterday.

In a takeover offer that is still playing out, QGC in August agreed to pay 82c a gigajoule for Sunshine Gas's proved, probable and possible, or 3P, reserves. If QGC accepted the same for its 5683 petajoules of reserves, it would value the company at $4.67 billion, or $5.10 a share.

The credit crunch and a nearly 50 per cent fall in QGC's shares since June have
probably saved BG from paying close to the unprecedented prices Conoco will fork out next week for half of Origin's reserves. Conoco paid $1.88/GJ for half of Origin's 3P reserves and a 50 per cent stake in a planned LNG plant in a deal worth up to $9.6 billion.
If BG had agreed to pay that much for QGC's reserves, the deal would value the company at more than $10 billion, or more than three times QGC's market value.
BG already has a 70 per cent interest in its joint LNG project with QGC, from which it hopes to export up to 12 million tonnes of LNG a year, so was faced with no premium to enter the market.

BG already owns 9.9 per cent of QGC, with the right to double that stake if there is a change in control of QGC. It also owns 20 per cent of QGC's CSG reserves.

AGL, which bought its QGC stake at $1.44 a share two years ago, might also have secured contracted gas for domestic use in return for selling into the field, analysts said.

In August, AGL chief executive Michael Fraser said the QGC stake was not seen as a core long-term asset, and while a decision had not been made to sell, it gave the group options to invest in direct gas access.