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Downer EDI boss Peter Tompkins’ turnaround of the $3.16 billion company has had some early wins. Shares are up 37.6 per cent over the past year, first-half results managed to beat consensus and it’s fighting long-time auditor KPMG in the courts to shake off reputational damage from accounting irregularities.

Now, the C-suite is ready to pick up asset sales once again.

Street Talk understands Downer EDI has greenlit a rebooted sale process for its Mineral Technologies unit, which makes mineral processing equipment used at mining sites around the world. The business is expected to be worth between $100 million and $200 million.

Readers will recall Barrenjoey’s Erin Tinker ran an auction for MinTech last year, but Downer pulled the plug around August, weeks after the company warned of a $550 million write-down and $386 million net loss for the 2023 financial year. MinTech was seen as non-core, as Downer sought to pivot towards soft services, and away from its heavy industrial roots under former boss Grant Fenn.

Sources said Downer is sticking with Barrenjoey, and a process is expected to launch in the coming months. Perth-headquartered AvidSys, which bought Downer’s open-cut mining services arm for $150 million in 2021, was among the bidders for MinTech.

While it’s not exactly a household name, MinTech traces its history back to the 1950s and makes about $112 million in revenue annually. Its product suite includes spiral gravity concentrators and magnetic and electrostatic separation technology via its Carrara and Reading brands respectively. Clients are typically producers of iron ore, mineral sands, silica sands, coal, chromite, gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum producers.

Downer pitched the unit as a “world leader” in its patch.

Read the full story tomorrow and more on the Street Talk page.

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Aged care operator Menarock Life runs 12 residential care facilities across Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania with 739 licensed beds. The company has Ord Minnett’s M&A team hunting for a strategic partner.

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