On Friday, construction group Murray & Roberts Holdings, Ltd said it had received approval to acquire the shares it has yet to own in Clough Ltd. Clough is an international oil and gas engineering and operation services provider in Australia.
Murray & Roberts is based out of Johannesburg, South Africa. The contractor is listed on the the JSE Securities Exchange. Clough, on the other hand, is a public company based in Perth, Western Australia. The engineering company has various projects in operations, maintenance services, engineering and construction mainly in the oil and gas industry. It goes by the ticker name "CLO" on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Murray & Roberts planned to purchase the remaining shares in Clough via a takeover bid. The South African company intended to do so via its wholly-owned subsidiary in Australia.
The South African company acquired the much-needed shareholder approval to purchase the remainig 38.4% interest in the oil and gas company. The buyout deal was valued at ZAR4 billion. The buyout deal was offered by Murray & Roberts in November. Moreover, Clough's board of directors intended to fully franked special dividend amounting to AUD0.14 per every share of Clough. The special dividend could be availed by all shareholders, including shareholders of Murray & Roberts.
In addition, the terms of the agreement would have Clough provide a financial aid to Murray & Roberts via a loan that will help fund the buyout. The shareholders of Clough had approved the resolution to extend financial assistance to the South African construction contractor.
The approvals obtained by Murray & Roberts would signal the companies to move forward to complete the buyout following that procedural conditions would also be met.
The special dividend scheme was expected to be effectively applied on November 21. The buyout was also expected by both parties to be finalized on December 11.
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