Achi news desk-
Wood said in a statement today: “The Wood Board notes recent speculation and confirms that it has received an unsolicited preliminary and conditional offer from Dar Al-Handasah Consultants Shair and Partners Holdings Ltd (“Sidara”), regarding a possible cash offer to acquire all the issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Wood (the “Offer”).
READ MORE: Drax to increase output from ‘Hollow Mountain’ in Argyll
“The Offer was accepted on 30 April 2024 and offered an offer price of 205 pence per Wood share. The Board gave careful consideration to the Proposal, together with its financial advisers, and concluded that it fundamentally undervalued Wood and its prospects for the future. Accordingly, the Board unanimously rejected the Proposal on 8 May 2024.
“There can be no assurance that any offer will be made to the company, nor as to the terms of any such offer, should one be made.”
Sidara, which has around 20,000 employees across 60 countries, noted Wood’s announcement and said it was “considering its next steps”.
The company, which generates nearly half of its revenue in North America, said: “Sidara has a strong focus on value and earnings discipline, and has a track record of growing acquired businesses.
“Further announcements will be made in due course as appropriate, but there is no guarantee that an offer will eventually be made.”
The latest move comes shortly after Sparta Capital, a major investor in Wood, said directors should consider selling the company. Sparta said a sale would be the best way to secure a fair valuation for the business after seeing shares plunge to near-record lows. Other possibilities highlighted by Sparta included moving Wood’s listing to the US stock exchange in the hope that the company could achieve a wider following.
READ MORE: Historic Edinburgh townhouses for ‘very unusual’ sale
The company rejected five takeover bids from US private equity group Apollo last year. Apollo had been prepared to pay £1.7bn for Wood.
Wood employs around 4,500 people in Aberdeen and its North Sea operations. It has a global workforce of 35,000.
The company is due to report first quarter results to the City on Thursday (May 9).
Shares closed up 16.9%, or 27.9p, at 192.9p.
