John Wood to pay for £1bn buyback with sale
Oil services provider John Wood Group said it will buy back shares to return the $1.7bn (£1bn) promised to shareholders from the sale of its well support division.
The company said on Monday that it will purchase up to 32.1 per cent of Wood Group’s shares within a price range of 605 to 625 pence per share, representing a discount of 6.1 per cent to three per cent to the closing price on Friday.
Wood Group, whose customers include BP and Royal Dutch Shell, said in February it intended to return cash to shareholders after it sold a unit which helps boost oil recovery from mature fields to U.S. company General Electric Co for about $2.8bn.
If any of the full $1.7bn is not returned to shareholders through the tender offer, the company said it would return any remaining balance via a separate, later B share scheme.