Leighton chair resigns on breakdown with majority holder; shares fall

SYDNEY, March 22 (Reuters) - Shares in Australia's Leighton Holdings Ltd fell more than 6 percent on Friday after its chairman and two non-executive directors resigned, citing a breakdown in relations with majority owner, German construction company Hochtief.

Chairman Stephen Johns and non-executive directors Wayne Osborn and Ian Macfarlane resigned on their view that "Hochtief no longer supports an independent board at Leighton", the company said in a statement.

Leighton operates under an independent board and management according to the arrangement between the company and Hochtief, which owns 53.4 percent of Leighton, the company said.

It said the board would meet as soon as possible to elect a new chairman.

Leighton shares fell to a five week low of A$20.26 and last traded down 6.1 percent at A$20.40 at 2321 GMT.

(Reporting By Maggie Lu Yueyang; Editing by Stephen Coates)