John Holland to undertake due diligence and negotiations for the possible acquisition of Walter Construction Group

Company Announcements Office
Australian Stock Exchange Limited
Level 4
20 Bridge Street
Sydney NSW 2000

Re: John Holland to undertake due diligence and negotiations for the possible acquisition of Walter Construction Group

Dear Sir,

Please find attached a copy of a media release to be issued today by John Holland Group Pty Limited. John Holland Group Pty Limited is a 70% owned subsidiary of Leighton Holdings Limited.

Yours faithfully,

A.J. MOIR
Company Secretary

John Holland to undertake due diligence and negotiations for the possible acquisition of Walter Construction Group

Issue Date: 6 November 2002
Issued by: John Holland Group

John Holland’s Chief Executive, Mr Bill Wild, announced today that the company had entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with Walter Bau AG to undertake due diligence and negotiations with a view to acquiring the ongoing Australian operations of Walter Construction Group. The acquisition is also subject to appropriate regulatory approvals.

Mr Wild said that the potential acquisition would significantly broaden John Holland’s presence in the Australian construction market.

“If the acquisition proceeds, Walter Construction Group would provide around $850 million to work in hand and bring specialist skills to John Holland such as tunnelling and underground mining, and extend our capability in water infrastructure,” said Mr Wild.

 Walter Construction Group achieved revenue of around $600 million in the 2001/02 financial year. It has approximately 700 employees.

Walter Construction Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of European based Walter Bau-AG. It was formerly known as Concrete Construction Group.

For further information contact:    
Bill Wild
Managing Director
John Holland Group
03 9934 5290 or 0409 066 702

Anne Fogarty
Communications Manager
John Holland Group
03 9934 5231 or 0409 791 101