Hochtief, a global infrastructure group with a major presence in the GCC region, said one of its key subsidiaries, Cimic Group has reached an agreement with UK-based Elliott Advisors for sale of 50 per cent equity interest in its Australian mining unit Thiess.

 

Hochtief holds a 77.1% stake in Cimic Group, an Australian multinational contractor active in the engineering and infrastructure, building and property, mining and resources and telecommunications sector. 

 

Elliott is one of the oldest fund managers of its kind under continuous operation and manages more than $40 billion in assets, including equity positions in private and listed companies, in Australia and globally.

 

Thiess delivers open cut and underground mining in Australia, Asia, Africa and the Americas, providing services to 25 projects across a range of commodities. 

 

It has a diverse fleet of plant and equipment of more than 2,200 assets, a team of around 14,000 employees and generates annual revenues in excess of A$4.1 billion ($2.9 billion).

 

Thiess is included in Cimic’s Mining and Mineral Processing segment with Cimic company Sedgman, a leading provider of minerals processing and associated infrastructure solutions to the global resources industry. 

 

As part of the deal, Cimic will retain the other 50% equity interest in Thiess in addition to

100% of Sedgman, generating A$400 million of annualized revenues with normalized profit before tax margins of around 10%.

 

Hochtief CEO and Cimic Group Executive Chairman Marcelino Fernández Verdes said the sales agreement reflects Thiess’ ongoing strategic importance as a core activity for Cimic. 

 

"It capitalises on the robust outlook for the mining sector and, together with Elliott, we will pursue market opportunities in line with Thiess’ growth and diversification strategy," he added.-TradeArabia News Service