Middle East firm gets more time to bid for Aberdeen's Wood
The extension is the latest development in a turbulent spell for Wood, which has been a takeover target since 2023, when it received and ultimately rebuffed several approaches from US-based Apollo Management Holdings. Apollo had seemed prepared to pay £1.7 billion for the company before walking away in April 2023. Middle East player Sidara then came to the table in May last year with an approach valuing Wood at around £1.6bn, before it pulled out of the running in August.
Sidara re-emerged as a contender this year only this time its approach is significantly less lucrative. Its renewed interest has followed a torrid time for Wood, which has seen its share price fall to historic lows following an independent review commissioned by the company in November, which revealed 'material weaknesses and failures in the group's financial culture within the projects business unit and engagement between group finance and projects'. Shares in the company have been temporarily suspended following a delay in the publication of the group's results for 2024.
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Sidara is a large planning, design, engineering and project management group that has used acquisitions to drive growth. On April 14, Wood said that it received a 'holistic non-binding conditional proposal for Sidara' which included a possible cash offer of 35p per share to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of the company. That would value the struggling Scottish company at about £241 million.
'The board of Wood is continuing to work with Sidara in relation to the pre-conditions to the possible offer set out in that announcement,' Wood said in a stock market announcement today. 'In particular, Wood and Sidara are continuing to engage with Wood's lenders and noteholders in relation to both the debt modifications and the Sidara liquidity arrangements (as defined in that announcement), and Wood is continuing to work with its auditor towards the publication of Wood's audited accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2024.
'The board of Wood has therefore requested, and the [Takeover] Panel has consented to, an extension to the date by which Sidara is required either to announce a firm intention to make an offer for Wood in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the [Takeover] Code or to announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement would be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the code applies. Such announcement must now be made by not later than 5.00pm on 12 June 2025.
'This deadline can be further extended with the agreement of the Board of Wood and the consent of the Panel in accordance with Rule 2.6(c) of the Code.
'Further announcements will be made in due course. In the meantime, shareholders are not required to take any action in relation to the possible offer.
'There continues to be no certainty that an offer will be made by Sidara even if the pre-conditions to the possible offer are satisfied or waived. This announcement is being made with the consent of Sidara."
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