John Wood Group, the Aberdeen-based global engineering and consulting giant, announced on Tuesday it has completed the sale of its offshore labour supply operations in the Gulf of Mexico to Louisiana-based energy services contractor Danos.

On March 7, Wood said it was “minded to reject” a fourth takeover proposal for the Aberdeen giant from private equity firm Apollo Global Management — this time pitched at 237p per share.

“The board believes this latest proposal continues to undervalue the group and is therefore minded to reject,” said the Aberdeen firm on March 7.

On the Gulf of Mexico deal, Wood said on Tuesday: “The sale was for a cash consideration of $17 million, with Wood retaining working capital,” said the Aberdeen firm.

“This represents an EV/EBITDA multiple of around 8x, including the working capital.

“Wood’s offshore labour supply operations in the Gulf of Mexico contributed around $90 million of revenue and around $3.5 million of adjusted EBITDA in 2022. It employs around 700 people.

“The net cash proceeds from this sale will further enhance the financial flexibility of the group.”

Wood CEO Ken Gilmartin said: “This divestment signals the proactive steps we’re taking to selectively high grade the group’s portfolio and invest in the markets and solutions where we see the strongest profitable growth.

“This is aligned to the strategy we set out in November 2022.

“Wood is committed to the USA with the Gulf of Mexico remaining an important region for our offshore consulting, capital projects and brownfield engineering businesses.”