<span class="" id="parent-fieldname-description"> Brisbane-based below-rail infrastructure developer ATEC Rail Group has been thrown into the mix of bidders for Leighton Holdingsâ $1bn construction business, John Holland. </span> <p>ATEC, which is on the cards to help deliver several major proposed pieces of railway infrastructure in Eastern Australia, has been added to the list of rumoured bidders for John Holland by the AFR’s Street Talk column today.<br /><br />It joins existing bidders China Communications Construction Company and South Korea’s Samsung in the hunt for the construction business, which Leighton has been looking to sell for roughly six months now.<br /><br />The AFR reports that prospective bidders have been told the company wants to enter exclusive talks with one preferred bidder by the end of this week.<br /><br />ATEC was in the running for the acquisition of the Port of Newcastle earlier this year, and also joined in with the bidding process during the privatisation of Port Kembla.<br /><br />John Holland is being sold by Leighton as part of a $1.5bn restructure.<br /><br />It operates in the construction and delivery of transport, commercial, mining and rail infrastructure, as well as in utilities, defence and other sectors.<br /><br />Experts are tipping China Communications as the most likely final suitor for John Holland, but it is believed that the offloading of the business might not be straightforward, with several different plans and purchase proposals reportedly on the table.</p>
