Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 14, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
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Wood Group's shares rose 28% after Sidara's £242 million takeover bid. The proposal includes cash payments and follows previous failed attempts.
(Reuters) -British oilfield services and engineering company Wood Group has received a proposal from Dubai's Sidara comprising a takeover bid worth about 242 million pounds ($318.4 million) and up to $450 million in cash, it said on Monday, boosting its shares.
Wood Group said Sidara's conditional proposal includes 35 pence each in cash for its shares plus a further $250 million on shareholder approval, with the remainder to follow later on completion of the offer.
Sidara's proposal is just before an April 17 deadline for the Dubai-based engineering and consulting firm to make a formal bid after the parties resumed deal discussions in February.
The British company said it would be "minded to recommend" a firm offer on such terms to its shareholders, if made.
Wood Group shares rose 28% by 0712 GMT to nearly 32 pence, still under the offer price and much lower than their 2013 high of 927 pence.
Sidara dropped its initial plans to buy the group last year, citing rising geopolitical risks and uncertainty in the financial market. Wood has also rejected multiple previous bids from Sidara.
The climate for deals has been made more uncertain by the turmoil in financial markets and fears of a recession sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Wood Group said on Monday it continued to assess refinancing options after in February saying it faced another year of negative cash flow.
"Having carefully considered the viability of these options together with its financial advisers, the board of Wood currently believes that the possible offer represents the better option," the company said in a statement.
Following a turbulent few years - with pressure from activist investors to pursue a sale and failed takeover attempts - Wood Group last month said it had identified issues within its projects unit following an independent review.
It also said on Monday it sought an extension of its debt facilities, and that Sidara had made "significant progress" with its due diligence.
($1 = 0.7601 pounds)
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Barbara Lewis)
The main topic is the takeover bid for Wood Group by Dubai's Sidara, which has boosted Wood Group's shares.
Sidara's proposal includes 35 pence per share in cash, with additional payments upon shareholder approval and deal completion.
Wood Group shares rose due to the enhanced takeover bid from Sidara, valuing the company at £242 million.
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