Origin agrees to sell Contact stake for $1.8B, ending era of foreign control

Mon, 03 Aug 2015

By Pattrick Smellie Aug. 4 (BusinessDesk) - Contact Energy will become an independently governed company for the first time since privatisation in 1999 after cornerstone shareholder Origin Energy agreed to sell its 53.1 percent stake to "a broad range of Australian, New Zealand and international equity market" investors. The sale will be concluded over the next day at a fixed price of $4.65 a share to realise $1.8 billion. The shares closed yesterday at $5.02. The move will shore up Origin's balance sheet and preserve investment grade cr...

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