Connection curbed

For now the Cloughs tentatively remain the largest shareholder in the engineering company that bears the family name. But that is set to change.

In a deal struck last year, the Cloughs agreed to end their majority ownership of Clough Ltd in a deal under which the family sold down its stake to South African rival, Murray & Roberts.

The Cloughs extracted $40 million from the transaction that saw them initially watered down to 34.6 per cent of the struggling firm and agree to Murray & Roberts taking advantage of the creep provisions to move up to 50.1 per cent during the next few years.

The deal also placed substantial restrictions on what the Clough family could do with its remaining stake.

Engineer and stockbroker Jock Clough, the latest generation of Cloughs involved in the business since it began as JO Clough and Son in 1919, became chairman in 2003 after a spell as an executive director.

His father, Harold, considered the driving force of the company’s growth from a local construction company to a significant niche player in the Asian region, remains a director, having stood down as chairman in 2002.

The company has operations across Asia, the Middle East, the South Pacific and Northern Europe.

At the 68 cents per share mark struck with Murray & Roberts, the Clough family holding after the deal was worth in the vicinity of $110 million, though the price was a considerable premium to the then share price. At current prices, that stake is valued at about $80 million.