Welspun Corp buys stake in Australian Leighton holdings

MELBOURNE: India-based Welspun Corp has bought 35 per cent of Australian Leighton Holdings for around USD 104 million in a bid to build strategic partnership.

Leighton Holdings' chief executive officer elect David Stewart said the sale to the Indian conglomerate gave his company an opportunity to build a strategic partnership within the growing South Asian economy.

"Having a local partner clearly provides greater access to the market, particularly when Welspun has such a complementary portfolio of businesses," Stewart said in a statement on Wednesday.

Operating since 1985, Welspun Group Ltd (which also has units in Gujarat and Karnataka) has interests in infrastructure, the oil and gas sectors, steel, steel pipes, and home textiles.

The Company has a global presence operating in more than 50 countries with annual revenues in 2009/10 estimated at around USD 1.6 billion, he said.

The transaction would generate USD 80 million in cash and a one-off gain to Leighton Holdings of around USD 200 million, Australian national news agency, AAP, quoted Stewart as saying in the statement.

"Today's announcement represents an exciting new phase in the development of our already successful Indian business and we look forward to working with Welspun," he said.

"We see them as a very complementary strategic partner to Leighton International and are optimistic about pursuing many new opportunities together", he added.