Murray & Roberts

SOUTH African engineering group Murray & Roberts will increase its interest in local engineer Clough to 49.1 per cent.

South African engineering and construction group Murray & Roberts has made a $430 million offer to win full control of Perth-based Clough, in which it already holds more than 60 per cent of the stock.

Forge Group has shrugged off tightening conditions in the resources sector and is on the lookout for acquisitions after reporting a net profit jump of nearly 30 per cent on the back of a record revenue performance.

When Forge Group announced this week it had won a $1.47 billion Roy Hill construction contract it was with new joint venture partner Duro Felguera, from Spain, rather than its former alliance partner and ex-major shareholder, Clough.

Perth engineering firm Clough has ceased trading on the ASX after securing the green light from shareholders and the Federal Court to proceed with a $462 million takeover by South African group Murray & Roberts.

SPECIAL REPORT: The past 12 months have been tough for WA’s corporate finance professionals, but there is cautious optimism that 2014 will be a different story.

Fortescue Metals Group has appointed the BAM Clough joint venture to design and construct a fifth iron ore loading berth at its Anderson Point facility in Port Hedland.

Yan Lui has resigned from his positions of chief executive officer and Trinidad general manager at Range Resources. Mr Liu will remain on the board of director as a non-executive director. Joshua Wellisch has resigned as a non-executive director of Dakota Minerals.

A local subsidiary of South African company Murray & Roberts is set to be awarded an underground mining services contract for Dacian Gold’s Mt Morgans project near Laverton.

Engineering group Clough has suffered from a massive fall in operating profit for the 2017 financial year, as revealed by South Africa-based parent company Murray & Roberts.

Former Woodside Petroleum executive Keith Spence has resigned as a director of Oil Search to join rival oil and gas producer Santos as chairman.

There were 39 insolvency appointments to Western-Australian-incorporated companies over the past two weeks.