Oil and gas firm John Wood Group is near to opening talks on a £1.66 billion ($2.06 billion) takeover attempt by Apollo Global Management Inc., according to The Times.
(Bloomberg) — Oil and gas firm John Wood Group is near to opening talks on a £1.66 billion ($2.06 billion) takeover attempt by Apollo Global Management Inc., according to The Times.
The London-listed firm has rejected four proposals from Apollo, but is warming to the final offer made this month, the newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information. Wood Group has refused to engage with the bidder, but in recent days has written to the investor seeking assurances on how the deal would be financed, The Times reported.
A spokesperson for Apollo declined to comment to Bloomberg News. Wood Group didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this month, New York-based Apollo said in a statement that its latest 240 pence-a-share cash proposal represented a 59% premium to Wood Group’s closing price on Feb. 21, the day before the FTSE 250 company confirmed it had received previous offers. Wood Group has been reluctant to grant Apollo further access to its business after saying in March that a fourth offer of £1.64 billion undervalued the company.
Wood Group offers a range of services to energy companies, including engineering support, consultation and management of assets. The company has been looking for ways to unlock the value it feels hasn’t been reflected in its share price. The company’s stock remains down about 60% over the past five years, a period in which Wood Group was hit by lower spending among oil and gas producers and charges linked to its 2017 acquisition of UK engineering-service provider Amec Foster Wheeler Plc.
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