Trading Day – Murray & Roberts to sell Clough

Murray & Roberts (M&R) has entered into a sale agreement with Webuild to sell Clough for approximately R4 billion, including a cash payment of A$500 000.

Meanwhile, US midterm elections are heating up, with polls indicating that Democrats will have a tough time holding on to their majorities in both the House and Senate.

US markets are in the green but relatively muted ahead of the midterm elections, with the S&P 500 closing 1% higher and the Nasdaq climbing 0.9%.

The Nikkei 225 is up 1.3% in early morning trade. The Hang Seng rebound seems to have run out of steam for the time being, as the index declined 0.8% this morning.

In other news, Trump-linked SPAC, DWAC, jumped 66% in a single day as the former president hints at a 2024 presidential run.

Here is the biggest news of the day.

• Murray & Roberts (M&R) has entered into a sale agreement with Webuild to sell Clough Limited. Clough comprises a substantial part of M&R’s Energy, Resource & Infrastructure (ERI) platform, which has been experiencing significant working capital pressures due to ongoing disruption to the company’s order book. Webuild is a multinational Italian industrial group specializing in construction and civil engineering and is headquartered in Milan. The net financial benefit of the transaction for M&R is circa A$350 million (equivalent to approximately R4 billion) and includes a cash payment of A$500 000 by Webuild to M&R.

• US Market movements are relatively muted as they await the outcome of the US midterm elections taking place today. Republicans are likely to gain seats as polls show that inflation is one of the biggest issues on the mind of voters, and many are blaming president Joe Biden for the current situation. In the House, Republicans need to gain five seats to win the majority. Currently, the Senate is tied for control, with Democrat vice-president Kamala Harris having the tie-breaking vote. Only 35 seats in total are being contested, and Republicans need to gain only one seat to take control, but the outcome is forecast to be a lot closer.

• Trump-linked SPAC jumped 66% in a single day as the former president hints at 2024 run. “In a very, very, very short period of time, you’re going to be very happy,” the former president told supporters in a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, going on to mention “taking back” America in 2024. Trump said he would make a “big announcement” on Tuesday, 15 November, where he is expected to launch his 2024 presidential campaign. Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) were listed in October 2021 and rose nearly 10-fold from around $10 to a peak of over $97 in March this year, whereafter it collapsed to a low of $16. The latest move puts the share price over $29.

• Attacq announces secondary listing on A2X. The listing will take effect from 16 November and will not affect the current issued share capital.