Wood Group's Listing at Risk Due to Audit Delays
(Reuters) -Wood Group, a British oilfield services firm that is Dubai-based Sidara's takeover target, said on Wednesday it would not publish its annual results by the April 30 deadline since it has not completed its audit.
The company started an independent review in November last year into its accounting for certain exceptional charges in its interim results.
Given the timing of the conclusion of the independent review and work needed to conclude the audit for 2024, the company expects not to publish 2024 accounts by April 30, Wood Group said, but did not give a date by which it could do so.
The company's shares will be temporarily suspended from listing and from trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange, starting May 1.
On March 31, Wood said it had identified "material weaknesses and failures" in its financial culture within its projects business unit, triggering a share drop of up to 40.7% that day.
On Wednesday, however, its shares were trading up 9.5% at 20.56 pence, lower than Sidara's offer price of 35 pence per share.
Sidara has till May 15 to make a firm offer for the company.
Wood has said it would be "minded to recommend" the offer to its shareholders, if made. The proposal includes a further $250 million on shareholder approval, besides the per-share price.
(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa and DhanushVignesh Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
