BG Group has declared a £6.7bn ($13.15bn; 13.8 Australian dollar) hostile bid for Origin Energy. BG, demerged in 1997 from British Gas, has made the all-cash offer for one of Australia’s largest coal seam gas producers after the latter rejected a similar bid offer in May. If Origin shareholders approve the offer, it would lead to the second largest takeover of an Australian firm by a foreign company. Origin shares jumped on the news.

Last month, Origin had spurned BG’s offer after it stated its coal seam gas reserves were worth far more. Origin has estimated a 121 per cent increase in its reserves of coal seam methane.

Frank Chapman, the BG Group chief executive, stated the latest offer was a 48 per cent premium on Origin’s share price just before the bid was made and represented full and fair value for its proposed takeover target. Some analysts believe that BG has some room to manoeuvre. An analyst at Fat Prophets Fund management, Gavin Wendt, said: “Some Origin shareholders may well think long and hard about this, since this may not be the last offer on the table.”