Wood Group rebuffs another bid from Apollo, this time at 237p

By Geoffrey Smith 

Investing.com -- Wood Group (LON:WG) said on Tuesday it has received a fourth bid from Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) and held the door open to talks with the U.S. private equity group, but said the new offer of 237 pence a share still undervalues the company. 

"On 6 March 2023 Apollo submitted a fourth proposal for a cash offer (the "Latest Proposal") to the Board, which values Wood shares at 237 pence per share," the engineering group said. "The Board believes this Latest Proposal continues to undervalue the Group and is therefore minded to reject."

However, it added that the board "will continue to engage with its shareholders and intends to engage further, on a limited basis, with Apollo."

The U.K. group believes it is emerging from a long slump caused by the decline of the North Sea oil and gas fields that have been its main market for the last 40 years. The Aberdeen-based company has repositioned itself to service the clean energy industry, and eked out its first gain in revenue in over three years last year. 

Despite that, its stock price is still at a historically depressed level. Its 2022 low represented a drop of nearly 90% over the last decade. News of Apollo's interest has caused the stock to rise by over 50%, but it still trades at a clear discount to Apollo's latest bid. The stock closed on Monday at 194.1p per share, some 18% below the latest offer. 

The U.K.’s takeover regulations give Apollo until March 22 to choose between making a public offer for the group or ending its interest.