b'1983 New owners, different futuresSold to Leighton While there were around 3000 staff in 1970and 7000 by the end of the decade After Westfield and Les sell down Thiess had become a large, diversified and successful public business. That made their shares, Leighton buys HOCHTIEFsit an interesting takeover target for other large, diversified and successful public shares to become the sole shareholderbusinesses. One of those was CSR, which took control of Thiess Holdings in 1980 of Thiess Contractors. At the same time,before splitting up its businesses and selling many of them off. Peter HyvonenHOCHTIEF buys 40 per cent of Leightonsworked for Thiess during (and after) this time. It was a difficult period for the entire business. employees, not knowing what was going to happen, he recalls. I also felt a bitsad for the [Thiess] boysI remember them telling staff not to take up theoffer to sell. CSR was after the treasured coal mining assets.ResortsLes in particular found the hostile takeover difficult to stomach. So he came to an The Hayman Island project in thearrangement with HOCHTIEF, a German construction giant that had been wanting to Whitsunday Islands is the companysenter Australia, to buy back Thiess construction arm through his familys Drayton first in a series of resort constructionsHoldings. Frank Lowys Westfield was a minor partner too. Les managed to negotiatemanaged by Thiess Contractors. the use of the Thiess name as well as ownership of the Archerfield offices and a significant order book of Australian-based construction projects.Before long, however, Les discovered that answering to a big corporate player didnt suit him so well. Westfield also wanted out. Enter: Leighton. In 1983, the large-scale contractor agreed to buy Thiess Contractors from HOCHTIEF. But to further complicate matters, HOCHTIEF also acquired 40 per cent of the entire Leighton business at the same time. Wal King was the CEO and Managing Director of Leighton Holdings at the time. According to him, The Thiess name was too strong and reputable to absorb into Leighton. Despite not having any Thiess brothers included in the business, Thiess (as Thiess Contractors) was given the chance to create a new future under different owners. In 1984, Les officially resigned his position from the Thiess Contractors board, thus ending the familys connection to the business theyd started.There were endless debates about whether we should keep the Thiess name andrun a two-branded company, said Dieter Adamsas, who was the Leighton CFO anda board member at the time. There was only ever one way to go. We werent in itfor a short-term kickthe Thiess name was too strong and reputable.Les Thiess, c. 1979. As for Les, well, he wasnt ready for a smoking jacket and slippers just yet. In 1984,he joined forces with a relatively small company run by Geoff Watkins on behalf of his family. Thiess-Watkins centred around south-east Queensland doing earthworks and civil jobs. Despite failing health and old age, Les remained an active director until selling his 50 per cent share in 1987. From there, he slowly wound down his various commercial interests. In November 1992, Sir Leslie Thiess passed away.57'