UPDATE 3-Origin Energy backs $11.8 bln buyout offer from Brookfield consortium

(Adds Brookfield comments, Origin comment)

By Sameer Manekar

Nov 10 (Reuters) - Origin Energy Ltd, Australia's no.2 power producer and energy retailer, backed an A$18.4 billion ($11.8 billion) non-binding buyout offer from a consortium led by Canada's Brookfield Asset Management, the companies said on Thursday.

Origin opened its books to the consortium after it raised its offer to A$9 per share in cash, a near 55% premium to Origin's last close of A$5.81. The company said it would recommend shareholders vote in favour of the proposal if no higher bid emerges.

If successful, the takeover would rank as the biggest private equity-backed buyout of an Australian company, and would be the biggest deal in the country this year, Refinitiv data shows.

The bid from Brookfield comes after it was rebuffed earlier this year after leading a $3.5 billion takeover offer for Australia's top power producer, AGL Energy.

"Our confidence in Origin’s prospects underscored our engagement with the Consortium and delivered a material increase on their initial offer," Origin Chairman Scott Perkins said in a statement.

Origin disclosed for the first time that it had received an initial cash offer of A$7.95 apiece in early August from the consortium, which was hiked to between A$8.70 and A$8.90 per share in mid-September.

Under the indicative proposal submitted on Thursday, Brookfield would acquire Origin's energy markets business, while MidOcean Energy, the other consortium partner, would take control of Origin's integrated gas business, including its 27.5% stake in Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG).

Origin has been looking to speed up its transition to cleaner energy, accelerating the planned shut down of the country's biggest coal-fired power plant and selling its gas exploration assets.

"Our business plan includes additional investment of A$20 billion by 2030 to build the required renewable capacity and storage and position Origin as Australia’s leading ‘greentailer’," Brookfield's Asia Pacific Chief Executive Officer Stewart Upson said in a statement. ($1 = 1.5562 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne and Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Maju Samuel and Lincoln Feast)