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John Wood Group

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Not to be confused with Wood Mackenzie.

John Wood Group plc
Company typePublic
ISINGB00B5N0P849
IndustryEnergy and Materials
Founded1982; 42 years ago (1982)
FounderIan Wood
HeadquartersAberdeen, Scotland, UK
Key people
  • Roy Franklin (Chairman)
  • Ken Gilmartin (Chief Executive)
ProductsEngineering and consulting
RevenueIncrease US$5,900.7 million (2023)[1]
Increase US$114.2 million (2023)[1]
Increase US$(105.2) million (2023)[1]
Number of employees
35,000 (2023)[2]
Websitewww.woodplc.com

John Wood Group plc, commonly known as Wood, is a British multinational engineering and consulting business with headquarters in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange as well as being a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

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The business was founded in 1982 by Ian Wood, when it split away from JW Holdings, the largest fishing company in Scotland.[3][4] Ian played a pivotal role in the management and direction of the company, being its chief executive officer (CEO) through to 2006 as well as its chairman through to 2012. From the 1980s through to the end of the 2000s, the Wood family held (via a series of charities and trusts) a sizable stake in the business, at one point as high as 40 percent of all available shares, giving them considerable sway over decision-making.[5]

From the onset of its operations, the company benefited greatly from a decision made by JW Holdings to diversify into the energy services business at the outset of the North Sea oil industry in the early 1970s.[6]

In September 2000, John Wood Group acquired the Texas-based oil rig business Mustang Engineering Inc. for $137.5 million.[7][8] Prior to the purchase, the business employed 6,000 staff worldwide while the purchase Mustang Engineering Inc, which was renamed Wood Group Mustang, added another 1,200 employees.[8] Post-purchase, the entity has continued to operate as a subsidiary of John Wood Group.[9][10]

During 2002, following several years of speculation that the company would do so,[8] John Wood Group was listed on the London Stock Exchange.[3][11]

In 2011, the company sold off its well support division to General Electric (GE) in exchange for $2.8 billion (£1.73 billion); it also conducted unsuccessful negotiations with GE over prospective co-operation on its gas turbine business as well. That same year, the Wood family reduced their 11 percent stake in John Wood Group to 1 percent in exchange for £366 million.[5]

During 2012, John Wood Group started providing environmental consultancy work to relation to Heathrow Airport's proposed expansion.[12] The company has also been involved in other transport infrastructure schemes, such as the potential reopening of the Watford and Rickmansworth Railway.[13]

In 2016, John Wood Group expanded its footprint in the North Sea oil sector through the purchase of the Aberdeen-based business Enterprise Engineering shortly after it had entered administration.[14]

In March 2017, the company announced it would acquire its rival, Amec Foster Wheeler, in an all stock deal, valued at approximately £2.2 billion.[15] Following approval from the Competition and Markets Authority,[16] the transaction was completed on 9 October 2017.[17] In the months following the transaction, John Wood Group opted to sell off some of the recently-acquired portions of Amec Foster Wheeler, including its North Sea oil & gas interests and its North American nuclear operation.[18][19]

During the 2010s, John Wood Group was involved in the design and construction of several civil nuclear power stations across the UK.[20][21][22] In 2020, the company's nuclear division, including its decommissioning work at Sellafield, was sold to the American conglomerate Jacobs Engineering Group in exchange for £250 million. The proceeds of the sale were stated to by used to reduce company debt and support its increasing focus on growing areas like renewables.[23][24]

In February 2022, John Wood Group announced that it would make a loss of approximately US$222million on an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System facility for the United States Army Corps of Engineers.[25]

During June 2022, the company announced the sale of its built environment consulting business to WSP Global Inc in exchange for approximately US$1.9billion.[26][27]

In April 2023, the American private equity firm Apollo Global Management, following four rejected bids to do so, walked away from negotiations to take over John Wood Group.[28][29] During May 2024, the company rejected a £1.4bn takeover offer made by the Dubai-based competitor Sidara, which “fundamentally undervalued” the company..[30][31]

Operations

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Wood provides consultation, management of assets and engineering services for the energy and materials sector.[32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Annual Results 2023" (PDF). Wood Group. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Our business". John Wood plc. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Wood Group Company History and Heritage". woodgroup.com. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  4. ^ Gosden, Emily. "Billionaire Wood Group chairman Sir Ian Wood to retire". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  5. ^ a b Mason, Rowena (3 June 2011). "Wood Group family sell most of stake in oil services company for £366m". The Telegraph.
  6. ^ Darroch, Valerie (31 December 2006). "Boss of the year: Sir Ian Wood reveals the secret of his success as he gets ready for a new role". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 27 April 2008.[dead link]
  7. ^ "Wood Group confirms signing of Mustang deal". European Power News. September 2000. Retrieved 7 April 2017.[dead link]
  8. ^ a b c "Wood Group harnesses Mustang #92m Texas deal boosts oil services group's presence in North America". heraldscotland.com. 19 July 2000.
  9. ^ McCulloch, Scott (3 December 2014). "Wood Group Mustang agrees partnership for project delivery in China". insider.co.uk.
  10. ^ "Wood Group Mustang awarded £30m North Sea contract". BBC News. 11 February 2013.
  11. ^ "Intertek, Wood Group Start IPOs Even as Buyers Shun New Equity". Bloomberg. 10 May 2002.
  12. ^ "Runway success". John Wood Group. 2018.
  13. ^ Hakimian, Rob (25 August 2022). "Atkins-led team to explore options to transform disused Watford rail line". New Civil Engineer.
  14. ^ Ambrose, Jillian (17 June 2016). "Wood Group buys bankrupt Aberdeen oil engineering firm". The Telegraph.
  15. ^ "Wood Group agrees takeover of rival Amec Foster Wheeler". BBC News. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  16. ^ "John Wood Group / Amec Foster Wheeler merger inquiry". Competition and Markets Authority. 11 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Wood Group completes £2.2bn takeover of Amec Foster Wheeler". City AM. 9 October 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  18. ^ "Wood divests Amec FW's North American nuclear business". environment-analyst.com. 9 November 2017.
  19. ^ Ambrose, Jillian (20 March 2018). "Wood Group vows 'worst is behind us' after costly takeover". The Telegraph.
  20. ^ "Wood secures framework contract on UK new nuclear power project". John Wood Group. 2018.
  21. ^ Ford, Jason (20 February 2018). "Wood to lead robotic nuclear decommissioning project". theengineer.co.uk.
  22. ^ "Hitachi appoints three further Wylfa Newydd partners". world-nuclear-news.org. 22 October 2018.
  23. ^ Black, Andrew (20 August 2019). "Energy services giant Wood pulls out of UK nuclear". BBC News. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  24. ^ Lowe, Tom (9 March 2020). "Jacobs snaps up Wood's nuclear business for £250m". building.co.uk.
  25. ^ "UK's Wood Group to take $100 million charge on Aegis project, delays results". Reuters. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  26. ^ "Wood to Sell Built-Environment Unit to WSP for $1.9 Billion". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  27. ^ "WSP completes £1.6bn John Wood E&I acquisition". The Construction Index. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  28. ^ "Wood Group shares sink after Apollo abandons 1.7 bln pound bid". Reuters. 15 May 2023.
  29. ^ McConnell, Ian (24 April 2023). "John Wood Group takeover moves and high inflation are miserable news". heraldscotland.com.
  30. ^ Ambrose, Jillian (8 May 2024). "Oil services company John Wood Group rejects £1.4bn takeover offer". The Guardian.
  31. ^ Mackenzie, Nell (16 April 2024). "Sparta Capital urges Wood Group to seek sale, rethink UK listing". Reuters.
  32. ^ Tani, Shotaro (23 August 2022). "Wood Group order book fills up as clients seek to prolong projects". Financial Times. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
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