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Dubai, United Arab Emirates – [24]
September 2007: Leighton Holdings acquired 45% of Al Habtoor Engineering for US$
860 million paid through cash and through the sale of 100% of Leighton Holdings
regional assets (“Gulf Leighton”) to Al Habtoor Engineering.
As part of the transaction, Al Habtoor Engineering has acquired 100% of Gulf
Leighton, the regional entity of the Australian construction giant. The combined
entity will form one of the biggest construction operators in the Region
leveraging an extensive scope of technical expertise as well as significant
execution capacity.
Gulf Leighton has been operating in the Region for around two years as the
Middle East and North Africa arm of Leighton holdings, showing its long term
commitment to expand in the Gulf. It established its presence by winning a
number of high profile contracts such as Al Shaqab equestrian centre in Doha,
Qatar, City of Arabia infrastructure works or, more recently, the Saadiyat
Island Expressway in Abu Dhabi and is currently involved in an extensive bidding
program on the largest infrastructure projects in the Region.
Commenting on the transaction, Mr. Khalaf Al Habtoor, Chairman of Al Habtoor
Holding, said “We are very pleased to join forces with Gulf Leighton to tackle
the tremendous growth in the construction industry in the Region and we strongly
believe that the combined operations will offer an unmatched range of services
in the industry”.
Mr. Riad T Al Sadik, Managing Partner of Al Habtoor Engineering, added “Gulf
Leighton showed impressive achievements in the Region and this key strategic
move will only enhance the presence of the two parties as a leading construction
player. Together, we will be able to successfully undertake the most challenging
construction projects thanks to the joint set of skills and knowledge as well as
large the amount of resources we both have available”.
EFG-Hermes acted as sole financial advisor to Al Habtoor Engineering on the
transaction.
About Al Habtoor Engineering
Al Habtoor Engineering, one of the biggest construction companies in the region,
was founded in 1970 by Mr. Khalaf Al Habtoor and Mr. Riad T Al Sadik. With
offices in Dubai (Head Office), Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Jordan, and the United
Kingdom, Al Habtoor Engineering is growing rapidly thanks to a significant
portfolio of projects in hand as well as an extensive tender program.
The Company’s achievements include some of the biggest landmark developments in
the region. The Company’s areas of expertises include high rise commercial and
residential buildings, hotels, airports, universities, infrastructure and
shopping malls.
As part of Al Habtoor Engineering’s continued efforts to widen its service
offering through vertical integration, the Company has established three
subsidiaries being Al Habtoor SPECON (mechanical, electrical and plumbing
works), Al Habtoor STFA (piling works) and Al Habtoor Interior (interior
fit-outs).
About Leighton
Leighton Holdings Limited is the parent company of Australia’s largest project
development and contracting group. Founded in 1949, the organisation has grown
into a diversified group that includes Thiess, John Holland, Leighton
Contractors, Leighton International, Leighton Asia, and Leighton Properties.
With over 27,000 employees, the Group’s operations are spread around Australia,
New Zealand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines,
Thailand, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Macau, India and the Arabian Gulf.
Leighton Group companies offer a broad range of project development and
contracting services and skills to public and private sector clients across a
wide range of industries. Project development skills – infrastructure, property
or resources based – and project management of construction and property
developments complement the Group’s contracting activities. These activities
include construction, mining and services. Leighton Holdings (LEI) is listed on
the Australian Stock Exchange and has its head office in Sydney. The Group’s
annual revenue exceeds US$10 billion, and work in hand exceeds US$21 billion.
Leighton International is the Leighton Group’s operating company responsible for
operations in Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, the
United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The company’s work in hand stands at around US$2
billion. Gulf Leighton, Leighton International’s division responsible for the
Arabian Gulf region, has several prestigious contracts in hand in both the UAE
and Qatar.
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