As expected, the board of Australia's Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund (HDF) has recommended on Tuesday the A$1.4 billion ($1.46 billion) bid of gas distributor Pipeline Consortium APA Group, a day after rival suitor Pipeline Partners Australia (PPA) bowed out from the chase game.

Hastings Funds Management Limited, the responsible entity for HDF, in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, said a subcommittee of independent directors had unanimously recommended the proposal to HDF securityholders, urging the latter to accept the offer in the absence of a better or improved bid.

In effect, HMFL withdrew an earlier recommendation of a takeover offer from PPA.

"As a result of the independent directors unanimously recommending APA's takeover offer in the absence of a superior proposal, HDF is liable to pay PPA the break fee of $12.3 million in accordance with the takeover bid implementation deed between HDF and PPA," the group said.

"We are pleased the higher offer from the APA Group is recognising the value that has been built up through the hard work of the Hastings and Epic Energy team over many years for the benefit of securityholders," HDF chief executive Colin Atkin said in a statement.

APA and PPA had been in a tight squabble for control over two key gas pipelines that HDF maintain, Moomba, which serve as Australia's main onshore gas hub. Analysts had earlier said growth prospects remain strong owing to the presence of new coal-seam gas projects as well as huge liquefied natural gas export projects in the Queensland state.

APA's offer is open for acceptance until September 4.

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