FTSE 250 movers: Wood up on bid rebuff; Renishaw slides after downgrade

Wood Group surged on Wednesday after saying it had rejected a 205p a share takeover proposal from Dubai-based engineering and consulting company Sidara, valuing it at more than £1.4bn.

Responding to press speculation, Wood Group said the proposal was received on 30 April.

"The board carefully considered the proposal, together with its financial advisers, and concluded that it fundamentally undervalued Wood and its future prospects," it said. "Accordingly, the board rejected the proposal unanimously on 8 May 2024."

The company said there can be no certainty that any offer will be made, nor as to the terms of any such offer, should one be made.

At 1325 BST, the shares were up 12.4% at 185.51p. Shares hit as high as 207.80p earlier after Bloomberg reported that Sidara was exploring a potential acquisition of the group.

Last May, US private equity firm Apollo Global pulled plans to make a takeover offer for Wood Group after making five cash bids for the company - the last in April at 240p a share - all of which were rejected.

Technical instruments maker Renishaw on Wednesday lowered the upper end of full-year guidance amid what it described as “mixed” markets as earnings fell over the first nine months of its financial year.

In a trading update, the company said it now expects revenue to be in the range of £680m to £700m and adjusted profit before tax of £122m to £135m. This compares with the £675m - £715m and £122m - £147m forecast at Renishaw’s interim results in February.

Adjusted pre-tax profit in the nine months to March 31 fell 22% to £86.8m.

“We have continued to deliver a solid performance in mixed market conditions, with growth from capital goods products and the early signs of recovering demand from semiconductor equipment builders,” Renishaw said.

“We expect the recent improvement in our trading performance to strengthen in the remainder of the financial year, as market conditions improve and as we continue to realise the benefits from a range of targeted growth opportunities.”

Market Movers

FTSE 250 - Risers

Wood Group (John) (WG.) 190.20p 15.27%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 69.20p 4.85%
OSB Group (OSB) 446.40p 4.06%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 489.60p 3.86%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 173.00p 3.10%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 208.00p 2.72%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,136.00p 2.59%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 746.00p 2.54%
Coats Group (COA) 85.10p 2.53%
Future (FUTR) 760.50p 2.15%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Tritax Eurobox (GBP) (EBOX) 59.90p -5.52%
Renishaw (RSW) 3,980.00p -4.21%
North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS) 4,020.00p -2.66%
Carnival (CCL) 1,027.50p -2.56%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 48.85p -2.20%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 199.60p -2.16%
Playtech (PTEC) 489.50p -2.10%
JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 517.00p -2.08%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,665.00p -1.87%
Workspace Group (WKP) 531.00p -1.85%