"A shareholder cap which prevented any one shareholder moving...

"A shareholder cap which prevented any one shareholder moving beyond 15 per cent of Santos was officially removed in 2008 by the South Australian government, after having been in place since 1979, when it was implemented to stop corporate raider Alan Bond seizing control of vital oil and gas assets in the north of the state."

Similar comments appear in an AFR article today but does the SA Treasurer really have the power to impose or 're-implement' a 15% SHolder limit on a public company once lifted?

I suspect he lost that control measure when it was lifted in that SA Gov't 2007 and 2008 legislation?

Tom Koutsantonis, the SA Treasurer, views the FIRB process as the most practical option to block any buyout of Santos by a private equity-backed firm from the US. He intends to aggressively lobby the federal Treasurer should Harbour Energy step up its overtures with a higher indicative buyout proposal.​

"There are a range of options available to us to protect Santos, including the FIRB process, which would involve consultation with the [rest of the] state government," he said on Sunday. He said Santos' operations were a critical part of the country's energy infrastructure.​

Mr Koutsantonis said the private equity backers of Harbour Energy were unlikely to be long-term owners and business builders.

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"What we see with these types of foreign private equity funds is that often their interest in energy assets is not to operate them, but to break them up, sell the parts and make a quick profit," he said.​

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"So these overtures should be treated with extreme caution," he said.​

The federal Treasurer has a right of veto over decisions on foreign buyouts made by the Foreign Investment Review Board. Those powers have been used on occasions by previous federal treasurers. Former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello knocked back the acquisition of Woodside by Shell in 2001 and former Labor treasurer Wayne Swan blocked the takeover of the ASX by the Singaporean exchange in 2011.​

In 2013, former Liberal treasurer Joe Hockey rejected the proposed takeover of Graincorp by American agribusiness Archer Daniels Midland.Harbour Energy or its advisers haven't made any contact with Mr Koutsantonis in the wake of its proposals being made public.​

Investors expect Harbour Energy, which is backed by giant EIG Global Energy Partners, may return in the next few days with a higher buyout proposal than the $4.55 per share version in mid-August, which became public for the first time late last week after a story in The Australian Financial Review. Speculation centres on a potential $5.30 offer.​

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Mr Koutsantonis is steering clear of potentially re-implementing a Santos shareholder cap of 15 per cent, but emphasised that was among "other steps the State Parliament could take".
A shareholder cap was officially removed in 2008 after having been in place since 1979 as a mechanism to prevent corporate raider Alan Bond seizing control of vital oil and gas assets in the north of the state.​

Read more: http://www.copyright link/business/energy/firb-hurdle-higher-for-santos-suitor-20171118-gzoa4i#ixzz51fPMXvA3 ​