Macmahon rejects Sembawang a second time
17 January 2013
Macmahon has reiterated its rejection of offers to acquire all or part of its construction assets by Sembawang, and a war of words has erupted between the two contractors over the details of Sembawang’s unsolicited approaches.
In a stock exchange announcement on 16 January, Macmahon said it had received a further letter from Sembawang stating that it remained interested in acquiring its construction businesses as going concerns for AU$ 38 million (US$ 40 million).
Macmahon pointed out that this came despite its previous rejection of Sembawang’s bids, and Sembawang’s public statement that it would not be making any further offers to Macmahon.
“Macmahon’s independent directors reiterate the matter of the Sembawang proposals is closed,” the contractor said.
Sembawan responded by insisting that it had not made a new offer for Macmahon’s construction business, and was simply re-stating its interest.
In any case, Macmahon’s preferred suitor is Leighton, with which it finalised an agreement to sell the majority of its construction projects for AU$ 20 million (US$ 21 million) at the end of December. Leighton is a majority shareholder in Macmahon, owning a 24% stake.
Macmahon has branded Sembawang’s offers “unsolicited, non-binding, incomplete and conditional.”
It plans to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting during February to weigh up the Leighton offer.
