CIMIC in Thiess sale talks

CIMIC Group is negotiating the sale of a 50 per cent stake in its mining services division to an affiliate of investment firm Elliott Management.

The contractor is in talks with UK-based Elliott Advisors to sell down its stake in Thiess, which CIMIC says is the world’s largest mining services provider.

The proposed sale would give joint control of Thiess to both CIMIC and Elliott.

“The introduction of an equity partner into Thiess would capitalise on the robust outlook for the mining sector and provide capital for Thiess’ continued growth, while enabling CIMIC to maintain its strong balance sheet,” CIMIC said.

Shares in CIMIC were up 3.6 per cent at 11:25am AEST to trade at $23.14.

The NSW-based contractor expects the negotiations to conclude in the coming weeks.

The announcement comes nearly three weeks after Thiess secured a $2.5 billion extension of works with Brisbane-based Jellinbah Group.

Thiess will continue providing mining services to Jellinbah’s Lake Vermont coalmine in Queensland for a further five years.