Bosses at Wood (LON: WG)We are optimistic that the sale of the built environment business will result in an increase in headcount for the divisions.
A number high quality parties are interested to acquire the department. A sale agreement will likely be reached towards the end of June.
According to Robin Watson (the company’s outgoing chief executive), the spin-off of the business will generate significant value to Woods shareholders.
It will also strengthen the Aberdeen-headquartered energy services giants balance sheet, affording the financial flexibility needed to deliver its strategy.
Last year, Wood announced that it was considering selling its assets. built environment section,The company boasts a staff of 7,000 as part a strategic review.
The company published its full-year results in 2021 on Wednesday and revealed that the sales process was nearing completion.
Mr Watson stated: We’ve reached a few milestones in the bidding process and have received a number high-quality interested parties who are still in the race.
We think that Well will be completing a sale agreement in the second quarter of June, right around the same time we have our annual general meeting.
Woods revenues are about 25% in the built environment segment, and almost all of it is part of the company’s consultancy business.
It employs approximately 7,000 people around the world, with approximately 6,000 of them in the US and Canada. The rest are primarily in Britain.
Wood wants to sell the entire division. Watson announced yesterday that he would be retiring from the company and expects it will thrive.
He said: The built environment division has been on a growth trajectory – weve been adding workers to that part of the business over the course of 2021.
We see it as a whole-sale of the business, which will provide job security. We are confident that the headcount will rise rather than fall as we move through the sales process.
It’s not a department that’s being sold to cut costs or reduce the headcount. Instead, it’s a business that’s being sold with an optimistic trajectory.
Watson stated that the sale of the department would be a fitting way to end his tenure at Wood.
Built environment provides engineering and consulting services to address environmental risks, increase resilience to climate change, build more sustainable infrastructure, and improve mobility.
It works across government, transportation and water markets.
Wood entered 2021 with the decision to conduct a strategic review of its operations, focusing on its built environment division.
Mr Watson said that when we looked at the strategic choices we had, the most attractive one was the sale of a business in the built environment.
It was felt that it was significantly undervalued within our portfolio and that there was little synergy between the operation and our other energy portfolio. 25% of the company is yours, with very little overlap with the other 75%.
“That was the logic behind the strategic review and we determined as a board that the right thing to do would be to have a disposal. This would allow us reduce our debt, return some cash to our shareholders, and unlock investments for our energy transition.
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