Sidara makes conditional proposal to acquire Wood

Dubai-based engineering group Sidara has submitted a proposal to acquire Wood Plc.

This non-binding offer involves purchasing Wood’s entire and to-be-issued share capital, and a potential capital injection of $450 million.

Wood has been attempting to raise finance to service its debt. Having studied the terms of the proposal, the board has stated that if Sidara follows up with a firm offer, it “would be minded to recommend” this to Wood’s shareholders facilities, subject to agreement on the full terms and conditions.

Sidara in turn has confirmed that its due diligence on Wood is progressing.

The proposed combination of the two groups would create a global engineering consulting company with enhanced scale, capability and diversification, with Sidara bringing strengths in energy and materials.

Sidara, a privately owned partnership formed in 1956, operates from 350 offices in 69 countries with 21,500 specialist personnel, including engineers, consultants, designers and project managers. Its geographic reach is said to be particularly strong in the US and Middle East. 

Assuming shareholder and regulatory approvals for the deal, Wood would continue to operate as a standalone, client-facing brand, maintaining its identity and business arrangements with its existing clients.