Sidara’s takeover of Wood back on the table

The UK-based engineering and consulting company Wood has been approached by architecture and engineering consultancy Dar Al-Handasah Consultants Shair and Partners Holdings (Sidara) regarding a possible takeover.

The UK firm has confirmed the receipt of a preliminary approach for its entire issued and to be issued share capital from Sidara. Since this does not represent a formal offer, Wood advised its shareholders to take no action concerning the proposal.

In accordance with applicable legislation, Sidara is required to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for the company or announce that it does not intend to make an offer by March 24, 2025.

The duo was already engaged in takeover talks that fell through last year. The engineering consultancy first offered 205 pence per Wood share on April 30, 2024, which the UK player’s board rejected on May 8 as it felt it fundamentally undervalued Wood and its future prospects.

Sidara upped the offer three more times until it reached 230 pence per Wood share on May 29, 2024. After the UK player accepted this offer on June 5, 2024, it decided to engage with Sidara to see if a firm offer could be made and gave the consultancy access to due diligence materials.

While Sidara confirmed the completion of due diligence on August 2, 2024, three days later it announced that it would not make an offer for Wood in light of rising geopolitical risks and financial market uncertainty.

Alongside takeover talks, Wood has been busy securing contract extensions. Thanks to a recent deal with Shell, the UK firm will provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services on the floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit Penguins for two more years.