CIMIC break-up of Thiess assets to pique Macmahon interest

THE AUSTRALIAN
CIMIC break-up of Thiess assetsto pique Macmahon interestThe Spanish-controlled majority owners of CIMIC could head towards a break-up plan for itssubsidiary Thiess should a buyer not be found for the entire business, according to analysts in themarket.Private equity firm Apollo was believed to be keen to buy Thiess last year, but its interest isunderstood to have since cooled.The challenge for divesting Thiess is always thought to have been its size, with the world’s largestmining services provider estimated to be worth more than $3bn.Some in the market believe selling off Thiess in parts could be the best path for the subsidiarythat was formed by a series of acquisitions and amalgamations of other operations. Thiess offersdevelopment, extraction, processing and remediation services.It established an Indonesian joint venture in 1988 and the expectation is that if the business wasto be sold, the Indonesian government would be keen for a local operator to have aninvolvement.Macmahon Holdings is not currently looking at Thiess, but should an opportunity arise to buyonly part of the operation, it is believed to be keen to secure assets. Sources say the contractingbusiness would attract Macmahon’s attention, with much of that work happening in Indonesia.Macmahon, which is listed with a $625m market value, was in 2017 subject to a $175m takeoverbid by CIMIC. However, CIMIC’s plans to buy Macmahon were thwarted when the companyinstead unveiled a new deal with an Indonesian white knight.