Alinta

Infobox Company
name = Alinta Limited

type =
foundation = As AlintaGas Ltd - Jan 1995
location = flagicon|AUS Perth, Western Australia, Australia
key_people = John Akehurst, Chairman
Bob Browning, CEO
industry = Energy
products = Gas
revenue = profit $1.48 billion AUD (2006, [http://www.alinta.net.au/investor/companyReports/annualReports/2006AnnualReport.pdf] )
net_income = profit $0.17 billion AUD (2006, [http://www.alinta.net.au/investor/companyReports/annualReports/2006AnnualReport.pdf] )
num_employees = ~3200
homepage = [http://www.alinta.net.au www.alinta.net.au]

Alinta is an Australian energy infrastructure company. It has grown from a small, Western Australia based gas distributor and retailer to the largest energy infrastructure company in Australia. It has become known for its aggressive approach to growth through acquisition and financial engineering.Fact|date=February 2007 It is owned by a consortium including Singapore Power and various Babcock & Brown funds. [cite press release |title=Alinta Scheme Implemented |url=http://www.asx.com.au/asx/statistics/showAnnouncementPDF.do?idsID=00755054 |publisher=ASX |accessdate=2007-09-05 |date=2007-08-31]

History

The word Alinta is derived from the word for fire in a traditional language of an Aboriginal tribe from Victoria.

It was formed as AlintaGas in January 1995 when the vertical monopolist energy supplier, the State Energy Commission of Western Australia, was disaggregated into separate gas and electricity corporations. On 13 July 2000 legislation was passed by the Government of Western Australia for the sale of AlintaGas which subsequently listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on 17 October 2000.

On 8 May 2003 AlintaGas Ltd officially changed its name to Alinta Limited.

On 23 July 2003 through a series of complicated transactions involving Alinta, Aquila Inc, United Energy, and AMP Henderson Global, Alinta became the operator, manager and part owner of regulated energy assets in Western Australia and Victoria. Through this transaction it also acquired National Power Services from United Energy.Fact|date=February 2007

In April 2004 Alinta acquired Duke Energy International's assets in Australia and New Zealand. In October 2004 a DUET/Alinta/Alcoa Consortium acquired the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline from Epic Energy. Alinta Network Services was appointed as the operator and manager of the pipeline under an Operational Services Agreement.Fact|date=February 2007

On 4 October 2005 Alinta publicly floated the pipelines and power stations it acquired from Duke Energy International into a separate investment vehicle, Alinta Infrastructure Holdings (AIH) which also traded on the ASX. In October 2006 Alinta, through Alinta IH Pty Ltd (Alinta IHPL), made an offer to buy out the 80% of the shareholding in AIH that it did not already own. By 11 January 2007 Alinta had acquired 91.4%, and moved to compulsorily acquire the remainder. [cite web |url=http://www.asx.com.au/asx/statistics/showAnnouncementPDF.do?idsID=00685823 |title= AAN Compulsory Acq. Notice for remaining AIH Securities |publisher=Australian Stock Exchange |author=Alinta Limited |accessdate=2007-01-31 |date=2007-01-18 |format=PDF]

Alinta acquired infrastructure assets and the "Agility" business from AGL through a combination of merger and demerger transactions on 25 October 2006. [cite web |url=http://www.ato.gov.au/print.asp?doc=/content/82341.htm |publisher=Australian Taxation Office |title=Alinta Ltd merger with the Australian Gas Light Company (AGL) - October 2006 |date=2007-01-18 |accessdate=2007-01-31]

On 9 January 2007 Alinta announced that senior executives and the Chairman were working on a Management buyout proposal, with Macquarie Bank as their advisor. [cite news |title=Management 'cherry-picking' Alinta |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/management-cherrypicking-alinta/2007/01/09/1168104982231.html |author=Michael Evans |date=2007-01-10 |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald |accessdate=2007-01-31] As a result, the chief executive officer Bob Browning resigned on 11 January 2007, and the company was clearly for sale to the highest bidder.

The company was eventually acquired by a consortium between Australia's second-largest investment bank, Babcock & Brown, and Singapore Power, the largest utility company in the city-state. [cite news |first = |last = |title = Australia's Alinta recommends US$6b bid by Babcock, Singapore Power |url = http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/267365/1/.html |publisher = Channel NewsAsia |date = 30 March 2007 ] after putting up a bid of A$13.9 billion, beating out a rival bid by Macquarie Bank. [cite news |first = |last = |title = SingPower group in $17b buyout of Aussie firm |url = |publisher = The Straits Times |date = 30 March 2007 ]

The Alinta Limited take over by a consortium comprising Singapore Power International (SPI), Babcock & Brown Infrastructure (BBI) and Babcock & Brown Power (BBP) was completed in late August 2007. Subsequently, Alinta Limited was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange in September 2007. The company was split into the following businesses:
* Alinta, retaining the West Australian gas retail business
* WestNet Energy, which provides asset management, operational, construction and maintenance services to the owners of the AlintaGas Networks gas distribution system in Western Australia; and to the owners of the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline. It is also a major contractor in overhead and underground electricity cabling.
* Alinta LGA, renamed to Jemena on 4 August 2008, which manages energy infrastructure assets in the eastern states of Australia including Queensland and New South Wales gas pipelines and gas and electricity distribution networks [ [http://www.alinta.net.au/ Alinta.net.au] ]

References

ee also

* Western Power

External links

* [http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/asaw/biogs/A001450b.htm Australian Science at Work - State Electricity Commission of Western Australia (1945 - 1975)]
* [http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/asaw/biogs/A001452b.htm Australian Science at Work - State Energy Commission of Western Australia (1975 - 1995)]