Watpac says it is in discussions with another party in regards to the sale of its Civil & Mining business.

The ASX-listed company said due diligence was being undertaken by the potential acquirer on an exclusive basis, as the two looked to tie up a deal.

It added: “The proposed transaction has an assessed potential value broadly in line with the current written down value of the company’s assets.”

In October, Belgium’s BESIX Group made a cash bid to acquire all of Watpac in an attempt to expand its contracting business. The bid was due to expire today; the same day the bid for the civil and mining business emerged.

In the year to June 30, 2018, Watpac recorded a consolidated statutory loss after tax of A$56.9 million ($42 million). While its construction business generated an underlying profit of A$20.6 million, it was weighed down by “impairment and restructuring provisions resulting from the board’s strategic review of the Civil & Mining business”, the company said.

The Civil & Mining business employs approximately 400 people nationally – about 40% of Watpac’s total national workforce – with active projects in Western Australia.