Aconex Limited, provider of a leading cloud collaboration platform for the global construction industry, has announced a multi-year strategic partnership with ASX listed CIMIC Group Limited  and certain of its related entities. CIMIC, formerly Leighton Holdings Limited, is the parent company of one of the world's largest international contractors.

Under the terms of its agreements with CIMIC, Aconex will:

• Provide cloud collaboration services for existing and new CIMIC infrastructure and construction projects in eight countries.
• Acquire the intellectual property, assets and certain customer relationships of INCITE Keystone, a global project collaboration platform owned and operated by CIMIC.
• Add INCITE Keystone product development and support staff to its workforce.
• Integrate INCITE Keystone process functionality for infrastructure projects on the Aconex collaboration platform over the next 12 months.
• Operate the INCITE Keystone platform until all projects currently on it are either completed or transitioned to the Aconex platform.

Aconex anticipates that the partnership will generate a minimum of A$16.5 million of committed revenue for the base management of existing and new projects over the next four years. INCITE Keystone currently hosts projects for CIMIC subsidiaries including Leighton Contractors; Leighton Asia, India and Offshore; and Thiess, the world's largest contract miner, as well as other companies such as John Holland.

Aconex will pay CIMIC approximately A$6.4 million in cash for the acquisition of INCITE Keystone intellectual property and assets, as well as the transfer of certain customer relationships and employees to Aconex.

As part of its commitment to the CIMIC partnership, Aconex plans to moderately increase research and development costs for the integration of INCITE Keystone process functionality for infrastructure projects on the Aconex platform over the next year. Aconex believes that this additional functionality will benefit all of its customers and users worldwide.

"Our global position as an industry leader is significantly strengthened by this partnership with CIMIC," said Aconex CEO Leigh Jasper. "We're enhancing the Aconex platform with infrastructure process technology and functionality from INCITE Keystone and adding an experienced team that has successfully served hundreds of large, complex infrastructure projects around the world. We're also gaining a long-term enterprise commitment from one of the largest contractor groups in Australia and Asia, with projects spanning the globe, and a leader in regional infrastructure development."