Last month, Webuild announced that it had reached an agreement with Clough’s parent company, Murray & Roberts, to acquire the entire share capital of the company “subject to positive outcome of due diligence”.
Webuild has now announced that the parties have “jointly determined and agreed that there is no reasonable prospect of that acquisition proceeding through to a successful completion”.
It added: “The parties have therefore unconditionally agreed to terminate the SPA [sale and purchase agreement] with immediate effect.”
Clough is one of Australia’s leading engineering and construction companies with a history going back more than 100 years. Webuild hoped that its acquisition would “provide significant operational commercial synergies.”
Webuild’s acquisition was based on the understanding that Clough currently has a pipeline of work (including preferred bids) worth around £4.2bn, annual turnover of around £860m and a debt-free balance sheet.
Webuild said it will continue to look for opportunities for growth internationally, including in the Australian market.
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