Wood Group has accepted a $291.5m takeover bid from Sidara, which includes assuming $1.6bn of debt and injecting $450m of cash into the company. The deal is contingent on Wood Group publishing overdue results before October 2025 and meeting certain debt facility conditions. The acquisition aims to address Wood Group’s liquidity challenges.

Wood Group’s delayed annual results in April led to a pause in share trading. Since 2017, the company has struggled to generate sustainable free cash flow due to regulatory penalties, unprofitable contracts, restructuring costs, and legal settlements. The board considers the current capital structure unsustainable. CEO Ken Gilmartin sees the acquisition by Sidara as a solution to short-term liquidity challenges.

Sidara revised its offer after a Financial Conduct Authority investigation. Wood Group’s valuation has fluctuated due to liquidity challenges, prompting cost-cutting measures. The company plans to sell its North American business for $110m to reduce debt. Chairman Roy Franklin will depart after a shareholder vote on the acquisition in January 2026.

Sidara’s chairman and CEO, Talal Shair, sees the acquisition as transformational, aiming to create a global engineering and design group. The move will strengthen client relationships, expand into new markets, and serve a broader range of global clients. Legal counsel for Sidara includes Allen & Overy, Shearman Sterling, and White & Case. Wood Group’s advisors are Slaughter and May and Burness Paull.

Shell UK extended a $120m contract with Wood for brownfield engineering, procurement, and construction services across its UK assets. The contract includes subsea and integrity management services for onshore terminals, offshore assets, and EPC services for the Penguins FPSO, expected to reach peak production of 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Wood Group accepts $291.5m takeover bid from Sidara