15th May 2023 10:30
(Alliance News) - John Wood Group PLC on Monday said it was "well placed" to deliver value to shareholders and has faith in its long-term prospects, following Apollo Management Holdings LP's announcement that it will not make a takeover offer.
The Aberdeen, Scotland-based consulting and engineering company noted Apollo's announcement on Monday that it does not intend to make an offer for John Wood. Apollo is a private equity firm owned by Apollo Global Management Inc, a New York-headquartered asset management firm.
Apollo announced a fifth proposal in early April to acquire John Wood for 240 pence per share in cash. The offer represented a 59% premium to John Wood's closing price of 151p per share at the time, and a 20% premium to the initial proposal of 200p per share.
The stock was down 33% at 146.09 pence in London on Monday.
John Wood last month said it had decided to engage with Apollo to see if a firm takeover offer could be made on the same financial terms as its last proposal, and granted Apollo access to due diligence materials.
In response to Apollo's "no intention to bid" statement, John Wood said: "The board remains confident in Wood's strategic direction and long-term prospects and believes that, following a transformative year in 2022, including new executive leadership and a new strategy, Wood is well placed to deliver substantial value for shareholders."
John Wood reaffirmed its targets, announced in November, to deliver adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation growth at mid to high single digit compound annual growth rate. It also reaffirmed its intention to return to positive free cash flow in 2024.
Last week John Wood published results for the first quarter, saying revenue had grown to USD1.45 billion and that adjusted Ebitda was in line with expectations, saying this reflected "good momentum" across all business units.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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