Wood plc, the Scottish corporate giant that played a leading role all across the oil and gas era of Aberdeen, is being taken over.
Wood plc, which happens to be Aberdeen-based, has witnessed its value dip and was facing a risk of collapse. It is now set to become part of Sidara, a Dubai based engineering firm.
A shareholder vote that took place on November 17, 2025, went on to back the takeover offer, having 88% of votes cast after months of delay, while Wood was struggling to agree on its accounts with the auditor.
Those were finally published on October 30, 2025, showcasing a pre-tax loss of over £2bn and evidence that the auditor was still not satisfied with the numbers going back many years.
In recommending the offer to the shareholders, the board of directors went ahead and advised that any sort of an alternative attempt so as to refinance the debt-laden company would lead to a much lesser valuation or nothing for that matter for the investors.
It is well to be noted that at its peak in 2013, Wood went on to reach a market valuation of over £5bn and also employed as many as over 50,000 people across the oilfields spread throughout the world.
It is formally called the John Wood Group and is going to return to that branding under the aegis of Sidara, the Dubai based engineering firm.
Sir Ian Wood, who happened to build up the family firm from roots within the fishing boat repair, went on to retire as the chairman 13 years back.
Post that, he focused majorly on philanthropy throughout Africa as well as Scotland, along with coordinating the support when it came to the wider Aberdeen energy economy as well as the city center.
It was in 2017 that his former company went on to take over an American rival, AMEC Foster Wheeler, along with certain large debts as well as legacy problems with legal disputes. Wood looked to diversify, adding to the array of services it offered pertaining to oil and gas production and chemical plants and venturing into the engineering of refineries, urban design as well as renewable energy. But it went on to suffer from the contractual conditions, which cost it massively.
In 2024, Sidara went on to say that it planned to bid £1.6bn so as to take over the company; however, it then walked away from the deal due to market uncertainty.
When the Dubai partnership came back in early 2025, it offered a small fraction of the 2024 proposal, later decreasing it further to £216m.
Besides this, Sidara,, the Dubai based engineering firm, has said it is going to infuse $450m, which is equivalent to £342m, into Wood.
The company, apparently, has sold many of its subsidiaries in order to raise funds. It recently confirmed that it had 35,000 employees in over 60 countries. In spite of its financial challenges, its reputation in engineering has consistently won it contracts.
The new owner has gone on to say that it looks to develop the Wood brand as an engineering and materials division.
Ken Gilmartin, its chief executive since 2022, has confirmed that he would step down post the deal being approved to get replaced by the chief finance officer, Iain Torrens. Roy Franklin, who happens to be the Wood chairman since 2019, has said that he also intends to step down.
