Aberdeen company John Wood takeover deadline is extended
It said today: 'On 14 April 2025, Wood announced that it had received a holistic non-binding conditional proposal from Sidara, including a possible offer of 35 pence in cash per Wood share to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of the company (the 'possible offer'), and that, should Sidara make a firm offer for Wood under rule 2.7 of the [Takeover] Code on the terms of the possible offer, the board of Wood would be minded to recommend such an offer to Wood's shareholders, subject to agreement of full terms and conditions.'
Wood added: '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. 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.'
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The Aberdeen company said its board had therefore requested, and the Takeover Panel had 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 code or to announce that it does not intend to make an offer'.
It noted this deadline, now 5pm on June 30, 'can be further extended with the agreement of the board of Wood and the consent of the panel'.
Wood said: '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.'
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The Herald Scotland
4 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
King's Birthday Honours List 2025: Scottish list in full
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Associate Director, College Development Network, lately Board Member, Scottish Funding Council and lately Principal, Dundee and Angus College. For services to Further Education. (Newport-on-Tay , Fife) - Dr Gillian Margaret Stewart. Director of Qualifications Development, Scottish Qualifications Authority. For services to Education. (Anstruther , Fife) - David Dewar Storrar. Head of Edinburgh Region, Historic Environment Scotland. For services to Heritage. (Kirkcaldy, Fife) Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) - Professor Frances Elizabeth Andrews. Professor, School of History, University of St Andrews. For services to Higher Education. (St Andrews, Fife) - Jennifer Gill. Founder, LoveOliver. For services to Families affected by Childhood Cancer. (Kirkcaldy, Fife) Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) - Kathleen Margaret Baird. For services to Girlguiding and to the community in Perth and Kinross. (Cupar, Fife) - Mary Claire Jennifer Cartwright. 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(Glasgow, Glasgow) - Professor Lyndsay Fletcher FRSE. Professor of Astrophysics, University of Glasgow. For services to Solar Physics and to Diversity and Inclusion in Physics and Astronomy. (Glasgow, Glasgow) - Dr Catherine Barbara Hutchison. Consultant Nurse, Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre. For services to Cancer Nursing. (Glasgow, Glasgow) - Zahrah Mahmood. President, Ramblers Scotland. For Voluntary Service in Scotland. (Glasgow, Glasgow) - Terence McCourt. Fundraiser, Parachute Regimental Association. For services to Veterans in Scotland. (Glasgow, Glasgow) - Keith McDevitt. Cyber Resilience Team Leader, Scottish Government. For services to Cyber Resilience in Scotland. (Glasgow, Glasgow) - Dr Richa Sinha. Chair, The Scottish Hindu Foundation. For services to the Hindu Community in Scotland and to Tackling Hinduphobia. (Glasgow, Glasgow) Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) - James Edward Hamilton. Deacon of the Church of Scotland, Parish of Maryhill Ruchill, Glasgow. For services to the community in Maryhill and Ruchill. (Glasgow, Glasgow) - Adarsh Khullar. Founder and Chair, Scottish Asian Ekta Group. For services to the Scottish Asian Ekta Group. (Glasgow, Glasgow) - Leanne McGuire. Founder and Chair, Glasgow City Parents Group. For services to Parental and Carer Engagement in Education. (Glasgow, Glasgow) Inverness-shire ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) - Katrina Heathcote. Commercial Director and Co-Owner, Witherbys. For services to the People of Scotland. (Aviemore, Inverness-shire) - Angus John Tulloch. Founder Trustee, Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust. For services to Music. (Kingussie, Inverness-shire) Lanarkshire ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) - Jane-Marie Stobie. Allied Health Professional. For services to People with Brain Injuries in Lanarkshire, Scotland. (Hamilton, Lanarkshire) Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) - Colin Dalgarno. President, Strathaven Rugby Club, Chair, Whiteshawgate 3G Sports Trust and Volunteer. For services to the community in Strathhaven. (Strathaven, Lanarkshire) Midlothian ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) - Richard Stephen Vallis. For services to Theatre, to Sport and to People with a Disability. (Penicuik, Midlothian) Orkney ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) - Susan Jane Campbell Melrose (Susan Foard). Procurator Fiscal, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. For services to the Administration of Justice and to the community in Orkney. (Kirkwall, Orkney) Perth and Kinross ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) - Nicholas Ashley Down. Head of Payments, HM Revenue and Customs. For services to the Transformation of Tax Payment Services. (Callander, Perth and Kinross) - Peter Alun Eslea Macdonald. Head of Research, Scottish Tartans Authority. For services to the Tartan Industry. (Perth, Perth and Kinross) Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) - Pauline Margaret Watson. Secretary, The Kinross-shire Volunteer Group and Rural Outreach Scheme. For services to the community in Kinross-shire. (Kinross, Perth and Kinross) Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) - Edna Auld. Founder and Director, Jambouree Choir. For services to Music. (Perth, Perth and Kinross) Renfrewshire ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) - Martin Fairley. Service Delivery Manager, Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services. For services to Criminal Justice. (Giffnock, Renfrewshire) Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) - Montague Cowen. Volunteer, Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women. For services to the Jewish Community and to the community in Giffnock, Glasgow. 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For services to Vulnerable People in West Lothian. (Bathgate, West Lothian) - Malcolm John Kirby. Volunteer, Red Dot Radio. For services to Hospitals in Edinburgh. (Broxburn, West Lothian) - Nichola Jane Page. Chief Human Resources Officer, Police Service of Scotland. For services to Policing, to Equality, and to Health. (Bathgate, West Lothian) Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) - Margaret Mullan Graham. Chair and Volunteer, Broxburn Family Centre. For services to the community in Broxburn. (Broxburn, West Lothian) - Shirley Jamieson. Lately School Crossing Patrol Person, City of Edinburgh. For services to the Safety of Pedestrians in Juniper Green, Edinburgh. (West Calder, West Lothian) - Jennifer Mallace. Founder, Bo 'ness Belles. For services to Charity. (Bo'ness, West Lothian) Western Isles ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) - Angus Campbell. Company Director, Kilbride Shellfish Ltd. 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Scotsman
16 hours ago
- Scotsman
We must put pragmatism before polarisation to build offshore wind industry
Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... In 1975, millions of tonnes of rock were blasted out of a mountainside at Kishorn, a remote site on the west Highland coast. The purpose was to create a dry dock for the construction of drilling platforms as the world's oil and gas giants raced to tap an emerging North Sea hydrocarbons boom. One of them, Ninian Central, was the largest movable object ever created when Chevron towed the vast concrete structure out to a site off Shetland. Half a century later, the US energy company is winding down Ninian and other platforms as it quits the North Sea. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Now Kishorn Port is being reinvented as a manufacturing hub for offshore wind, leveraging its status as one of the largest dry docks in Europe. Highlands and Islands Enterprise last month pledged £24 million for expansion that would allow assembly of floating offshore wind platforms. Kishorn is emblematic of Scotland's attempt to harness the job-creation opportunities presented by the energy transition. Ed Miliband, energy secretary, is looking to Scotland to deliver the lion's share of the UK's target for 50 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind as part of a 'Clean Power 2030' plan. Back in the day, Kishorn employed 3,000 people. The hope is that if enough business can be won making concrete offshore wind foundations and other components, half that number could be working at the site eventually. Yet the big unknown for Scotland's energy workforce is whether such work will come in the volume needed to create enough green jobs to make up for an anticipated decline in employment as the North Sea basin comes to the end of its life. It's a situation faced not only by other ports across Scotland – Ardesier in the Moray Firth, Nigg in the Cromarty Firth - but Scotland's entire offshore wind industry. This includes developers in ScotWind, a mostly North Sea portfolio of 20 wind farms that are supposed to deliver 30GW of the UK's target. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The warning lights are already flashing. Last month, Aberdeen-based Robert Gordon University (RGU)'s Energy Transition Institute forecast that depending on how three scenarios play out, the direct and indirect UK oil and gas workforce could lose about 400 jobs every fortnight for the next five years – a 'Grangemouth effect', given this is the same number being let go with the refinery's closure. This matters because around 90 per cent of the UK oil and gas workforce is deployed in the supply chain, such as engineering and maritime services – precisely the feedstock of transferrable skills that offshore wind developers and ports need to build and maintain wind farms. The RGU reckons that close to £210 billion would need to be spent on offshore wind to meet the UK government's 2030 target. Yet only a fraction of this is currently approved for spending by ScotWind developers. Arguably the main barrier to progress is lack of clarity on connections to the grid, which must urgently be upgraded. The issue was brought into stark relief this week when the UK's National Energy System Operator said Scotland's 'constrained' network meant it had been forced to pay operators to disconnect wind farms at record levels. So far, so discouraging. The situation is made worse by the fact that 60 per cent of ScotWind is for floating wind farms designed for waters too deep for platforms fixed to the ocean floor. This is commercially unproven technology, on which Miliband's 2030 target heavily depends. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Moreover, banks and insurers are not yet sufficiently confident in the technology to commit to the scale of what's envisaged. Some ScotWind projects involve more than 200 wind turbines standing almost as tall as the Eiffel Tower. Three things need to happen to fix this. First, the UK government needs to bring forward a consultation due by 2030 on replacing the Energy Profits Levy (EPL), or 'windfall tax', with a more flexible mechanism would tax operators more fairly and at a time of unusually high prices. Gail Anderson, research director at energy consultants Wood Mackenzie, says this would incentivise companies to stay in the North Sea in the crucial next five years, preserving jobs. 'There's an upside case here but the government needs to act quickly,' she says. Second, floating wind urgently needs a pipeline of demonstrator projects that are fast-tracked, tested and a commercial case proven for them become bankable as quickly as possible. Only one commercial scale floating wind farm so far exists in the UK: Green Volt, a 560-megawatt floating wind farm planned by Flotation Energy and Vårgrønn. The good news is that GB Energy, the state-owned company whose £8.3bn in government funding was confirmed in this week's Spending Review, will focus its firepower on nascent technologies such as floating offshore wind. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We want to be a market-maker for these new technologies,' its chairman, Juergen Maier, told a Glasgow conference last month. An extra £300m handed to GB Energy in the Spending Review for offshore wind should help. Finally, it's time to act on a recommendation in a jobs and innovation report out last week from Gordon Brown's think-tank, Our Scottish Future. It urges setting out a single, clearly defined Scottish industrial strategy, jointly owned by the UK and Scottish government and regional partnerships, proposing a series of 'big bets on a handful of strategic clusters', such as offshore wind.
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- The Herald Scotland
John Swinney rejects Donald Trump's calls for more oil drilling
Mr Swinney stressed the need to 'recognise the realities of climate change' and carry out a 'just transition' to net zero. The First Minister said: 'I do not think it's a surprise that Donald Trump believes and says what he says about energy issues. 'I think we're all quite familiar with his line of argument – but from the Scottish Government's point of view, we've given a commitment to get to net zero, and we're going to see that commitment through.' Read More Donald Trump calls for more North Sea oil drilling with Aberdeen 'the hub' The First Minister added: 'The need to take climate action is absolutely central to what all governments have got to do, and the Scottish Government is absolutely committed to that journey.' He said the 'shift' from fossil fuels to renewable energy needed to take place in a 'managed way', and that there are 'huge opportunities' in Scotland for renewable energy. 'That's exactly the approach that we'll take, and we're now achieving great success in the rolling-out of renewable technologies in Scotland,' he said. The Scottish Government has committed to a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2045, something the Conservatives described on Friday as a 'pipe dream' due to what they said was the 'snail's pace' of change. The Tories said that based on current projections it could take until 2080 for the country to achieve net zero status, and that there would be 'eye-watering' costs if the target is to be achieved. Mr Swinney rejected this characterisation, insisting: 'What my government will do is what we always do, which is we'll look at the evidence, we'll take the practical steps, and we'll deliver on our commitments, and that's what we do.' He also pointed out that the Conservatives had previously supported the 2045 target in the Scottish Parliament.
