Wood Group agrees £216m takeover by Dubai's Sidara

(Sharecast News) - Wood Group said on Friday that it has agreed to be taken over by Sidara in a £216m deal that will see the Dubai-based engineering and consulting firm provide a cash injection of $450m. Sidara announced last weekend that it was reducing its offer for Wood Group from 35p to 30p a share having completed its due diligence. Wood subsequently said that it would be minded to recommend the lower offer.

The latest offer is subject to the publication of Wood's audited accounts on or before 31 October 2025, among others things. Shares in Wood Group were suspended from trading on the London Stock Exchange after it missed the end of April deadline for publishing its full-year 2024 accounts.

Wood Group has agreed an extension of its committed debt facilities to October 2028 with its lenders and Sidara said the acquisition is conditional upon the amendment and extension becoming effective.

Of Sidara's $450m capital injection, $250m will be made available once the deal has been approved by Wood shareholders and the remaining $200m will be made available when the takeover completes.

Wood noted that it has not generated any sustainable free cash flow since 2017, with a total free cash outflow from 2017 to 2024 of about $1.5bn, "reflecting multiple issues including regulatory fines, significant loss-making contracts, restructuring charges and litigation payments".

It said any alternative refinancing option would likely generate "materially less, and potentially zero, value for Wood shareholders relative to the terms of this recommended acquisition".

Sidara said its vision is for Wood to become its Energy and Materials division.

"Sidara values the talent in the Wood organisation and intends to retain the Wood brand," it said.

"In the near term, Sidara's clear priority is to provide greater stability to Wood, bring financial strength to the business and to invest in Wood's client relationships. In the longer term, Sidara believes that Wood would provide an attractive platform to drive growth across its enlarged business."

Wood Group chair Roy Franklin said: "Today is an important milestone in providing a stable foundation for Wood to deliver on its significant potential.

"The board's recommendation of Sidara's offer follows an extensive review of the viability of all available options and it is the unanimous view of the Wood Board that this is the best option for all stakeholders, whilst delivering some value for our shareholders after what has been a very difficult few years for the company."

Earlier on Friday, Wood Group announced the sale of its transmission and distribution business in North America to Qualus for $110m.