- Sidara has submitted a new offer valuing Wood Group at around £1.6bn
- It represents a 52% premium to Wood’s closing share price on April 29.
Engineering and consulting company Sidara has raised its offer for John Wood Group for the third and final time.
The Dubai-based company has tabled a 230p-per-share proposal that values the Scottish oilfield services giant at around £1.6bn.
It represents a 52 percent premium to Wood’s closing share price on April 29, the day before Sidara revealed its first offer for the business.
Takeover target: Engineering firm Sidara has submitted a 230p-per-share proposal valuing oilfield services giant John Wood Group at around £1.6bn
Wood rejected Sidara’s initial approach of 205 pence per share and two subsequent bids worth 212 pence and 220 pence per share respectively, saying they undervalued the company and its future prospects.
Bosses at the FTSE 250 firm said they would review the proposal with financial advisers and make a further announcement later.
Under city rules, Sidara has until 5 p.m. on June 5 to make a concrete offer or withdraw, although Wood and the acquisition panel could extend this deadline.
Sidara said its latest proposal “does not amount to a firm intention to make an offer under the code, and there can be no certainty that an offer will ultimately be made.”
John Wood Group Shares They were 2.9 per cent, or 12.3p, lower at 184.8p on Wednesday afternoon.
Wood’s decision comes amid a renewed flurry of acquisition activity involving London-listed companies, which are perceived as undervalued relative to their global peers.
Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services has accepted a £3.2bn bid from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, who owns major stakes in supermarket chain Sainsbury’s and football club West Ham United.
Kretinsky has promised to maintain Royal Mail’s headquarters and tax residency in the UK, as well as its universal service obligation, its brand and the protection of staff benefits and pensions.
Meanwhile, Anglo American rejected a £39bn deal from BHP, £8bn more than the Australian mining giant’s original offer, and rejected calls to extend the deadline for takeover discussions.
If the deal goes through, it would represent the largest mining sector acquisition in history and improve BHP’s exposure to copper, a vital element in green technologies such as electric vehicle batteries and solar panels.
Other companies that have rejected major takeover bids in recent months include motor insurer Direct Line and trading platform Hargreaves Lansdown.
But many have accepted proposals, including cybersecurity specialist Darktrace, packaging group DS Smith, transport company Wincanton and telecoms testing company Spirent Communications.