In an update yesterday the contractor said it had already sealed and completed the transaction, with the net proceeds expected to land at about $62 million.
The company has not yet announced solid plans for how it will use the new cash, but chief financial officer Sybrandt van Dyk told ICN related publication MiningNews.net the money would most likely be used to pay back debt.
The sale represents a much-needed boost for Macmahon and comes as the contractor continues negotiations with its lenders.
Patersons Securities previously said the company was under “enormous financial pressure” following key contract losses, which included Fortescue Metals Group’s Christmas Creek mine.
“To be honest, up until this point I believe our negotiating position was fairly weak with all the negative press around the contract losses,” Van Dyk said.
“This will put us in a much stronger position.”
The sale puts to bed a dispute with state-owned Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi regarding payment delays at the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine.
The five-year contract at Tavan Tolgoi was worth $500 million and was set to finish in 2017, with the scope of work involving large scale open pit operations.
Moving forward, Macmahon chairman Jim Walker said the company was bidding on about $2.2 billion of new work.
Walker said the company had reached the final stages of the bidding process on a number of projects.
“Hopefully we’ll get some positive news with the pipeline which will also help us going forward,” he said.
