Australia Briefing

Abu Dhabi’s XRG Walks Away from Santos Takeover

The Santos Ltd. logo displayed at an entrance of Santos Place building, which houses the company's office, in Brisbane, Australia.

Photographer: Ian Waldie/Bloomberg

Good morning everyone, it’s Ben here in a brisk Melbourne, this is what’s making headlines today.

Today’s must-reads:
• Abu Dhabi ditches $19 billion Santos takeover
• Albanese fails to finalize security deal with PNG
• Federal Reserve cuts rates on weak US jobs market

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company dropped its planned $19 billion takeover of Australian natural gas producer Santos, walking away from an ambitious effort to expand overseas after failing to agree on key terms. A “combination of factors” discouraged the company’s XRG unit from making a final bid, it said Wednesday.