Wood Group races to finalise Sidara deal by end of June
Wood Group, the troubled London-listed oil services company, is racing to finalise a cut-price takeover by a Gulf-based rival by the end of the month.
Sky News has learnt that Wood and Sidara, its UAE-based suitor, are to request an extension to a 'put up or shut up' deadline on Thursday for the latter to make a firm offer.
The joint request to the Takeover Panel, which is expected to be granted, is likely to involve a shorter extension than the maximum 28 days allowed under City rules, reflecting the companies' confidence that a deal will be agreed.
Wood and Sidara are aiming to get a binding transaction agreed by 30 June, when a waiver of Wood's lending covenants is due to expire, according to industry insiders.
A public statement is likely to be made on Thursday.
Sidara tabled a 35p-a-share offer for Wood in April which valued the Aberdeen-based target at just over £242m.
It came less than a year after it proposed a deal worth about £1.5bn, after which Wood's shares collapsed in the wake of revelations about its past financial results and corporate governance.
The company's shares have been suspended since the beginning of last month.
Wood was also the subject of an earlier takeover approach from Apollo Global Management, the private equity firm.
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