Major Drilling Group, the Toronto listed drilling contractor, has acquired the Bunbury Drilling Company through its Australian subsidiary. Bunbury is a specialised mine dewatering drilling contractor based in Western Australia, family owned for more than 70 years and three generations, with a client base among major mining companies.
Major paid an upfront cash amount of A$50 million (C$48.97 million), with a further A$20 million available over a three year earn-out period, funded from its existing cash position and debt facilities. Bunbury’s management team stays in place. In the twelve months to June 30, 2026, Bunbury generated revenue of about A$43 million and adjusted EBITDA of about A$15 million, an EBITDA margin near 35 percent that Major says reflects the specialised nature of dewatering work, which it expects to carry higher gross and EBITDA margins than conventional or underground drilling.
The valuation is undemanding on the numbers given: the upfront price is about 3.3 times Bunbury’s adjusted EBITDA, rising to about 4.7 times if the full earn-out is paid. Strategically, dewatering is production linked rather than exploration linked work, tied to operating mines’ water management rather than to junior financing cycles, which smooths the revenue mix of a contractor whose core business rises and falls with exploration budgets.
Shares in Major Drilling rose 7.21 percent to C$15.16 in Toronto on Monday morning, a reception that suggests investors read the deal the same way: a modestly priced entry into a specialist niche in an established market, bought from a family seller at a point of generational transition.