JOHN WOOD GROUP acquired by SIDARA

Sidara completed the acquisition of John Wood Group in March 2026, ending a takeover process that had begun with a multi-billion-pound proposal and ended as a discounted rescue deal. Wood’s sustained cash outflows and rising debt had weakened its balance sheet, creating both the conditions for a lower valuation and the need for fresh capital. The deal took the form of a public offer to the shareholders of the London-listed group. Sidara added Wood as the Energy and Materials pillar of its group, alongside Dar, Perkins&Will, TYLin and Currie & Brown. Wood kept its own brand and operated as a standalone business, so cost savings were confined to shared back-office functions. Together the two groups counted more than 55,000 staff, with about 40% of revenue in North America and 20% in each of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. Neil Bruce was appointed chief executive of Wood. The capital injection strengthened Wood’s liquidity, reduced near-term refinancing risk and reassured suppliers and clients, with refinanced facilities extended to 2028. Its recovery depended on converting its order book into revenue and rebuilding utilisation, while Sidara’s relationship with Aramco opened opportunities in Saudi Arabia’s Jafurah gas and carbon capture programme. Wood had also been the subject of an FCA investigation into its financial reporting between January 2023 and November 2024, which found that inaccurate information had been published and imposed a financial penalty. Wood was advised by Rothschild & Co, Europa Partners, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley, with Slaughter and May and Burness Paull as legal counsel. Sidara worked with Goldman Sachs and Greenhill, and with Allen Overy Shearman Sterling, White & Case and Dickson Minto on the legal side.