Ryan Stokes says the proposed $36 billion takeover offer for Santos by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and US private equity giant The Carlyle Group could be highly detrimental to Australia’s national interest and domestic gas market.
Stokes, chief executive of industrial conglomerate SGH, which owns Boral, Caterpillar heavy equipment distributor WesTrac and industrial hire business Coates, has a 30 per cent stake in oil and gas group Beach Energy, which has a joint venture with Santos in South Australia.
Stokes said private equity buyers were not long-term owners and Australia could be worse off should the private equity buyout proceed. “We wouldn’t like to see a private venture get control of what will be a key infrastructure asset,” Stokes said.
Source: https://www.afr.com/companies/manufacturing/ryan-stokes-flags-acquisitions-for-sgh-attacks-abu-dhabi-bid-for-santos-20250807-p5ml1w