John Wood Group has agreed to sell its North American Transmission & Distribution engineering business to Qualus LLC for $110 million as part of Wood’s ongoing disposal programme aimed at shedding non-core assets.
Wood Group are being forced to strip down the business to pay off debts.
The Aberdeen-based engineering firm reached the agreement following what it described as a “highly competitive auction process”. Qualus, a power infrastructure specialist, will acquire the business at a valuation of 14.9 times adjusted EBITDA.
Wood says they identified its North American T&D unit as non-core during a strategic portfolio review.
The business provides power infrastructure engineering services for substations, transmission, distribution and renewable generation across Canada and the United States.
The disposal contributes to Wood’s target of raising £118-158 million from asset sales in 2025. So far this year, the company has agreed disposal proceeds totalling approximately £217 million – already exceeding its initial target.
While the sale will help shore up Wood’s finances, investors will be more concerned about the ongoing takeover saga and whether the deal with Middle Eastern buyers is done at 30p.