Intermoney | The construction company (Buy, PO €69) has agreed to sell 50% of its subsidiary UGL to Japanese company Sojitz for around €282 million. UGL, which focuses on the operation and maintenance of transport equipment such as locomotives and wagons, belongs to Cimic, which in turn is controlled by the Group through Hochtief, and its main market is Australia. ACS will retain the remaining 50% of the capital and will share the governance of UGL with its new partner.
Assessment: This transaction comes as no surprise, as it had been rumoured in the market and continues the rotation of assets within Cimic since the takeover in 2022; the assets sold include 50% of Thiess and Ventia.
Cimic increased its EBITDA in 9M25 by 12% to €953 million, a result that includes Thiess’ contribution for the entire year compared to four months in 2024; without this factor, we believe that Cimic’s other businesses, focused mainly on civil construction in Australia, must have seen their EBITDA fall by approximately -10%.
At the consolidated level, the Group increased its EBITDA by 32%, due to the strength of Turner, which was in turn driven by the booming data centre business.
