JSE-listed Murray & Roberts, on Tuesday said it wants to buy more stakes in Australia-based construction firm, Clough Limited, for R4 billion ($405 million).

Murray & Roberts, which currently owns 61.6 percent of Clough, said the acquisition will be 100 percent cash.

It said independent directors of Clough were in total agreement that this planned acquisition of the stake should go full steam ahead.

If the deal goes through, it could possibly turn Clough into a wholly-owned subsidiary of Murray & Roberts, South Africa’s biggest construction firm with a multi-billion rand order book.

Murray & Roberts proposal to buy the stake it does not already own in the Austrialia-based firm is subject to the final permission from the company itself after it has done the due diligence audit in Clough.

The deal is also subject to how negotiations with Clough’s executive management team and the board of directors will go.

South Africa-based Murray & Roberts has had a long-lasting relationship with the Austrialian contruction firm. It started when the South African construction fir acquired a stake in Clough in 2004.

Murray & Roberts has gradually increased its stake over time in the Australian firm, and Clough is now an integral part of the company.

The proposed deal will make a globally expanded engineering and construction firm.

It will also expose Murray & Roberts’ to markets which have the possibility of giving the company long-lasting growth prospects.

Posted on : 30 Nov,-0001