HOCHTIEF completes $1.05B CIMIC buyout to take full ownership
What's the deal? HOCHTIEFDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Australia Holdings completed the acquisition of the remaining 21.42% stake in CIMIC GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → it did not already own, taking its ownership to 100%. The German-controlled parent paid US$14.2 cash per share — about US$970.6M (roughly $1.05 billion) — for 66,665,467 shares, with CIMIC delisting from the ASX in May 2022.
Who are they? HOCHTIEF is a German construction group, while CIMIC is an Australian engineering and infrastructure contractor in which HOCHTIEF already held about 78.58%.
Why now? HOCHTIEF framed the buyout as a simplification of its group structure. The off-market offer followed a sharp fall in CIMIC's share price and the company's move to exit its Middle East operations.
How it played out? HOCHTIEF submitted an unconditional, final offer on February 23, 2022, funded through a transaction facility with a consortium of banks. CIMIC's independent board committee, advised by expert Grant Thornton, found the offer "fair and reasonable" and unanimously recommended shareholders accept it absent a superior proposal.
By April 12, acceptances had lifted HOCHTIEF's interest to 94.68%, clearing the way for compulsory acquisition of the rest. The offer closed on May 10, 2022, and the acquisition completed on May 6.
What changed? HOCHTIEF's 2022 results cited the CIMIC minority buyout as a "substantial simplification" of its corporate structure, booking a net €534 million investment. The parent reported operational net profit of €522 million for the year, up 15%, with sales of €26.2 billion.
The signal: Full ownership let HOCHTIEF consolidate control and pursue a lower-risk order book, with enhanced risk-sharing contracts now over 80% of its backlog. The thread continued at CIMIC's subsidiary level: in July 2026, CIMIC bought ElliottDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s remaining 40% of ThiessDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → for US$763.5M, returning the mining-services firm to full ownership.
Read more: europesays.com
Image credit: CIMIC Group
