Germany’s Hochtief makes A$1.47-billion bid for remaining shares of Australia’s Cimic Group

(Reuters) -Construction firm Hochtief AG made a A$1.47 billion bid on Wednesday to buy the remaining 21.42% stake in Australia’s CIMIC Group Ltd it does not already own.

The offer of A$22 ($15.97) per share was at a 33.4% premium to Cimic’s last close on Feb. 23.

Hochtief, Cimic’s biggest shareholder, said it plans to fund the deal through an offer funding arrangement.

The offer, which has the approval of Australia’s foreign investment board, would make Cimic a wholly owned unit of Hochtief.

The takeover offer comes against the backdrop of a steep decline in Cimic’s share price, with the company working to fully exit its operations in the Middle East.

The Australian company earlier this moth reported a 35.2% drop in its statutory net profit after tax for the full year.

Cimic did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular working hours.

($1 = 1.3778 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru)