Leighton Holdings considers integration after buying back Indian operations Leighton Holdings is considering combining its Indian oil and gas business with other parts of its international operations to cut costs after restoring full control over its Indian operations. Ian Edwards, managing director of Leighton's Asian, India and offshore business, will examine what parts of the group's international businesses can be integrated after Leighton last week said it would buy back a 39.9 per cent stake in its joint venture with India's Welspun Group. Leighton, which has operated in India since the late 1990s, initially sold off part of its Indian business to raise cash and boost profits after taking write-downs on its Brisbane Airport Link project in 2010. It held talks with another Indian conglomerate, the Jindal Group, before selling 35 per cent of its Indian business to Welspun in April 2011 for $US104 million. It is now paying $US99 million to buy Welspun's stake back. Leighton booked a $259 million gain before tax on the sale of the Indian stake in its 2010 half-year results but the gain was not large enough to counter further write-downs on key projects, forcing it to take a full-year loss of $409 million for 2010. Analysts said Leighton had paid a high price to buy back the Indian stake, but noted full ownership would allow the company to avoid any potential write-downs on the joint venture's carrying value before its 2013 annual results, which will be delivered in late February. Although the Welspun acquisition will lower Leighton's 2013 statutory net profits by $70 million, Leighton has not changed its full-year guidance for underlying net profit of between $520 million and $600 million. Meanwhile, Grupo ACS, which controls Leighton via its German subsidiary Hochtief, is keen to expand in India, citing the country as a key emerging market opportunity along with Brazil and Mexico. ACS subsidiaries such as Hochtief, Turner and Cobra also have operations in India, which contributed €119 million to ACS's 2012 construction revenues. Hochtief last month lifted its stake in the Australian company to 57.75 per cent from 56.52 per cent in October. Bringing the Indian joint venture back into Leighton's full control will also allow ACS, which has tightened oversight of its Australian subsidiary, to keep a close eye on its accounting practices.