MELBOURNE - Merger target Origin Energy Ltd has been forced to defend a letter it sent to the Australian Stock Exchange in December, which said it was not aware of any reason for a rise in its share-price.
Origin later said on January 4 that it had receivedan unsolicited approach from fellow utility AGL Energy Limited for a potential merger.
Origin said in a letter to the ASX today that when it gave its response on December 20, it was the company's view at the time that the proposal was not material.
"The speculation that had appeared in the press prior to that time was the subject of the query related to a takeover proposal of which the company was not aware, including in the context of the definition of the term 'aware' for the purposes of the ASX listing rules," Origin said.
However Origin said it believed the proposal was confidential, until a press report on January 4, after which it concluded an announcement should be made to the market.
"This decision, and the company's legal advice, was influenced firstly by the fact that the report in the Australian Financial Review indicated that the proposal may have ceased to be confidential and that the exception contained in Listing Rule 3.1A may no longer be applicable, and secondly by the face that the report was misleading insofar as its suggested that the relevant parties were engaged in discussions in relation to the proposal which was not the case," it added.
At 1019 AEDT Origin's shares were down five cents at A$8.60 ($9.85) each.
