(Reuters) -Britain’s Wood Group said on Monday it has received a fresh approach from Sidara about a possible takeover offer, after the Dubai-based group failed to acquire the struggling oilfield services and engineering firm six months ago.
Shares in the London-listed company had surged more than 34% after the Financial Times first reported the renewed talks.
Sidara, which abandoned its previous plans, has made a fresh approach following the collapse of Wood Group’s shares in recent weeks, the FT report said, citing two people close to the discussions.
Shares of Wood Group have lost more than 60% of their value since the start of the year through Friday’s last close.
Wood Group forecast negative cash flow for another year and saw its CFO step down earlier in the month following a tumultuous past few years of activist investor pressure to consider a sale, two unsuccessful takeover proposals and a review of its financials.
Sidara was keen to move quickly to ensure it could retain senior and mid-ranking Wood staff who have been angered by the company’s plight and its decision to cut bonuses, the report added, citing people with knowledge of the talks.
The financial terms of the potential offer were not disclosed by Wood in its statement on Monday.
Shares of the London-listed company were up 34.2% at 35.44 pence by 1357 GMT, after plummeting more than 85% since Sidara walked away from the discussions, citing rising geopolitical risks and uncertainty in the financial market.
Sidara did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia and Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Tasim Zahid)
