SYDNEY, Dec. 12 -- Australian construction company Leighton Holdings will sell its John Holland contracting division to Chinese-owned CCCC International Holding Ltd for 1.15 billion Australian dollars (950 million U.S. dollars).

CCCCI is the financing arm of the China Communications Construction Company, the fourth-largest construction company in the world by revenue.

Leighton chief executive Marcelino Fernandez Verdes said the company's John Holland subsidiary shows off its position as one of the country's leading engineering and construction companies.

"The divestment of John Holland demonstrates the progress we have made with our strategic review initiatives over the past six months to strengthen the balance sheet, streamline the operating model and improve project delivery," Fernandez Verdes said in a statement.

The sale is subject to approval by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board, but completion of the takeover is expected in the first quarter of 2015.