Duet says bid by Li Ka-Shing’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure approved by Australia

Billionaire Li Ka-shing’s A$7.4 billion (US$5.6 billion) takeover bid for power provider Duet Group has won foreign investment approval from the Australian government, paving the way for the Hong Kong tycoon to diversify away from his reliance on Europe.

Treasurer Scott Morrison has no objection to the bid by a consortium led by Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings, Duet said in a statement to the stock exchange Friday. The deal was approved “overwhelmingly” by proxy voters, Chairman Doug Halley told a meeting in Sydney, with 99.3 per cent support.

Duet will give Asia’s third-richest man access to an energy network covering an area three times the size of Hong Kong as Li faces uncertainties in his biggest market, Europe, with a string of elections this year. The deal is Li’s largest in Australia, where the government last year blocked him from buying a majority stake in power network Ausgrid, citing national security concerns.

Duet’s shares rose 9.8 per cent to A$3.02 at 10:53am in Sydney, compared to the offer of A$3 per share cash and a special dividend of 3 cents.

Buying Duet will expand Li’s interests in Australia, where he already own stakes in assets including SA Power Networks, Powercor Australia, Australian Gas Networks and CitiPower I Pty.