2 Minutes Read (Reuters) – CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – The Alberta Securities Commission determined on Monday that Inter Pipeline Ltd did not engage in any illegal defensive tactics in response to a hostile takeover attempt from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. Brookfield made a hostile takeover bid for Inter in February, and last month updated its offer to include an all-cash option in its C$8.48 billion ($6.81 billion) purchase offer. As part of a strategy to avert the takeover, Inter changed its shareholder rights plan and conducted a strategic assessment to find other suitors, which resulted in rival bidder Pembina Pipeline Corp making a competing C$8.3 billion all-stock offer. Inter’s board of directors approved the transaction, which includes a C$350 million break fee for shareholders. Brookfield, whose offer is set to expire on Tuesday, filed a complaint with the Alberta Securities Commission last month, arguing that Inter’s tactics benefited Pembina, but the matter was dismissed. In Monday’s oral ruling, regulator Kari Horn stated, “We were not satisfied that Inter Pipeline engaged in any unlawful defense tactics.” (1 Canadian dollar = 1.2453 dollars) Nia Williams contributed reporting, while Leslie Adler and Peter Cooney edited the piece./n
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