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National electrical contractor EC&M could be facing a buyout from perth-based Genus Plus Group, which owns Powerlines Plus and Diamond Underground.
Genus is already one of Australia's biggest construction and maintenance businesses looking after infrastructure, substations and transmission towers for companies such as Western Power, BHP, Horizon, Rio Tinto, Fortescue, Telstra and Optus.
As reported in Finacial Review (AFR.com), EC&M − which slipped into administration in August – was generating annual revenue of $150 million-plus and had a long track record involving 280 separate projects across Australia for entities including CBH and Alcoa with a total value of $1.9 billion.
But it lost its way after a cost blow-out on a project in New South Wales and KPMG was brought in as administrator of a business which had 400 workers on the books and a history stretching back to 1986.
Genus is eyeing the increasing spending on infrastructure in the mining sector in particular, with resources one of the few industries likely to deliver robust growth over the next couple of years as the Australian consumer economy spins its wheels.