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Oil & Gas Services

John Wood receives new offer from Sidara

John Wood Group PLC (LSE:WG.) has received a cash bid of 35p per share from Dubai-based engineering group Sidara, which the board said it would be minded to accept.

The energy industry services group said Sidara made a "holistic non-binding conditional proposal" that also include a possible capital injection of $450 million.

Under the proposal, Wood Group must also extend and amend its existing borrowing facilities, including covenant waivers it secured last month when it said an independent investigation had found "material" holes in its accounts.

But, having taken in all the latest information as part of its due diligence process on Wood, Sidara has made the offer, which is above the 25p at which the shares closed last week but compares to levels around 200p last summer before Sidara pulled out of a previous round of takeover talks.

Wood said it is continuing to work on alternative refinancing options, but the board believes that the possible offer from Sidara "represents the better option for Wood's shareholders, creditors and other stakeholders" and said if a firm offer is made it is minded to recommend it to shareholders.

The two companies were in talks last year about a possible offer priced at 230p per share, before Sidara walked away, citing "rising geopolitical risks and financial market uncertainty at this time".

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