OIL services giant Wood Group’s bid to acquire rival Amec Foster Wheeler for £2.2 billion has won strong backing from shareholders in both businesses.
Aberdeen-based Wood Group said 99.93 per cent of votes cast at a general meeting approved the company’s all share acquisition of Amec Foster Wheeler.
Some 99.92 per cent of votes cast by Amec Foster Wheeler shareholders at court meeting approved the takeover.
Wood Group chief executive Robin Watson said he was delighted shareholders in both firms had supported the offer.
He added: “Today we take another significant step towards creating a global leader in project, engineering and technical services delivery across a broad range of industrial markets, predominantly focused on oil & gas.”
Mr Watson will be chief executive of the enlarged group, which will be run from Aberdeen.
However there are fears that the takeover could result in heavy job losses in Scotland. Both firms have big North Sea operations.
Wood revealed last month that around 1,200 jobs will be shed globally under plans to realise £165 million synergies from the enlarged firm if the deal completes as planned.
The group has proposed to offload the bulk of London-based Amec Foster Wheeler’s upstream oil and gas business in the UK, among undertakings given to help ensure Competition and Markets Authority approval for the deal.
The CMA announced on Monday that it has launched an enquiry into whether the takeover could result in a substantial lessening of competition in any market in the UK.
It must decide by 7 August whether to complete a more detailed phase 2 investigation.
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