The £207million takeover of Wood Group is set to conclude next week after the company confirmed that all antitrust and regulatory approvals have now been secured, clearing the path for court sanction.
The Aberdeen-based engineer said the recommended 30p-a-share cash offer from Sidara is expected to become effective on March 10th.
The sanction hearing is scheduled for March 6th. Assuming the High Court approves the scheme of arrangement and the order is delivered to the Registrar of Companies, the transaction will complete four days later.
Wood’s shares are expected to be suspended from trading at 7.30am on the effective date, with cancellation of the listing the following morning.
Shareholders overwhelmingly backed the deal in November, with 89% voting in favour. The 30p offer values the group at approximately £207million — a collapse of about 95% from its 2018 peak market capitalisation of £5.3billion.
Wood, which employs around 35,000 people across more than 60 countries, has endured years of financial strain following its £2.2billion acquisition of Amec Foster Wheeler in 2017. Heavy debt, persistent cash burn and accounting failures eroded investor confidence.
Recommending the offer last summer, Wood’s directors warned that alternatives would “likely generate materially less, and potentially zero, value for shareholders”.
FSTE100
The UK's flagship share index, the FTSE 100, was down 143-points at 10,636 shortly after opening this morning.
Brent crude oil futures were up 2.95% at $79.11 a barrel.
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