Wood Group accepts Sidara's takeover bid after year-long pursuit

(Reuters) -Britain's Wood Group has agreed to a 216-million-pound ($292 million) conditional takeover bid from Dubai-based Sidara, the companies said on Friday, ending a pursuit that spanned more than a year and involved multiple offers and rejections.

Under the 30-pence-per-share offer, Sidara will assume $1.6 billion of Wood Group's debt and inject $450 million of cash into the company.

The deal is conditional on Wood Group publishing its delayed results and ensuring that certain debt facilities are not terminated, among other requirements.

The British oilfield services firm in April delayed the publication of its annual results due to a pending audit, leading to a temporary suspension of its shares.

Earlier this week, Sidara lowered its bid proposal for Wood Group after Britain's Financial Conduct Authority launched a probe into some of Wood Group's contracts and charges.

The bid price is a fraction of Wood Group's valuation of around 1.66 billion pounds when it first attracted takeover interest in 2023 from parties including U.S.-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management.

On Friday, the embattled company said its liquidity was insufficient to fund operations and that it planned to pursue further cost-cutting measures through 2025.

Earlier on Friday, Wood said it would sell its North American transmission and distribution engineering business for $110 million, as it looks to dispose of its non-core businesses to cut debt.

"The current capital structure of the Wood Group is unsustainable," Wood's board said in a statement.

Chairman Roy Franklin, who had planned on exiting the firm once its future direction was clear, is now set to leave following the court meeting on January 7, 2026, when shareholders will vote on the acquisition, it said.

"It is the unanimous view of the Wood Board that this is the best option for all stakeholders," Franklin said in a statement on Sidara's offer.

"This transaction allows us to strengthen client relationships, expand into new markets, and serve a broader range of global clients," Sidara's CEO Talal Shair said.

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia and Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru. Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Mark Potter)