𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Troubled Wood Group has agreed to a £216 million takeover by Dubai-based suitor Sidara.

The Aberdeen-headquartered engineering and energy services firm said Sidara will pay 30p per share to buy the firm after reducing a previous offer for the business.

It is the latest development over a tumultuous period for Wood, which saw its shares suspended from the London Stock Exchange after full-year financial results due in April were delayed.

Sidara – a privately held network of engineering and design companies run from the United Arab Emirates – had previously made an approach worth 35p a share in mid-April, valuing Wood Group at £242.2 million.

It confirmed over the weekend that it had however reduced its takeover offer.

In a separate update on Monday, Wood Group said that it could be prepared to accept a deal valuing the business at 30p per share.

On Friday afternoon, Wood confirmed that it reached an agreement over the takeover.

It told shareholders current capital structure is “unsustainable” due to debts worth around 1.6 billion US dollars (£1.2 billion).

Wood’s board said they believe that any refinancing option “would likely generate materially less, and potentially zero, value for Wood Shareholders” that the proposed takeover.

The company has been selling off parts of its operations over the past year in order to help cut its debts.

Earlier on Friday, the company agreed to sell off its North American transmission and distribution business in a 110 million US dollar (£81.5 million) deal.

Bosses said the latest deal means Wood has significantly exceeded plans announced earlier this year to secure between 150 million dollars (£111 million) and 200 million dollars (£148 million) through sales.

Wood has agreed to sell the North American T&D operation, which employs around 250 people, to power solutions firm Qualus.

The division had revenues of 37.3 million dollars (£27.6 million) in 2023 and adjusted earnings worth five million dollars (£3.7 million).

The deal is expected to be completed in the third or fourth quarter of this year and will be used to help fund debt reduction at Wood.

Ken Gilmartin, chief executive of Wood, said: “We are pleased to announce continued progress of our non-core business disposal programme with the sale of North America T&D to Qualus, following a highly competitive sale process.

“This sale, along with the sale of Kelchner and the agreement to divest our interest in RWG, has led to approximately 275 million dollars of disposal proceeds agreed so far this year.”