Webuild has reached a conditional agreement to acquire Australia’s Clough Group from South African parent company Murray & Roberts Holdings.
The acquisition of the engineering and construction company is subject to due diligence and no financial details of the transaction have been given.
The Italian contractor will turn Clough into its Australian arm following a financial reorganisation. As of 30 June, Clough had workforce of 2,500, an order backlog of €2.1bn and revenue of €1bn. It has also been named preferred bidder on projects with a total value of €2.7bn.
Webuild says the deal will allow it to enter the markets of Western Australia and Queensland and build its presence in New South Wales and Victoria. It will also allow the company to expand into the sectors of energy and defence.
The two companies worked together on a €3.3bn design-and-build contract for the Australian Rail Track Corporation and the expansion of the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme. The acquisition will allow Webuild to take over minority stakes in both those projects.
