The battle for Origin Energy Ltd. rages on, with hostile bidder BG Group plc Friday turning to Australia's Takeovers Panel to pin its target down on what it sees as wildly overoptimistic assertions about its value and prospects. The regulator, while making no comment on the merits of BG's appeal, noted that the U.K. group wants Origin to issue a supplementary bidder's statement explaining, among other things, exactly why it considers BG's A$13.8 billion ($11.9 billion) bid too low and how alternative transactions Origin is pursuing for its coal-seam gas reserves are shaping up. Reading, England-based BG's hopes of clinching Australia's second-largest energy retailer got a fillip Thursday when its target warned of slowing growth in the year ahead. But with Origin's shares remaining resolutely above BG's A$15.50 per share offer, shareholders look unlikely to sign up to the U.K. bid by its Sept. 26 close. -
Laura Board
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