UK watchdog accepts Wood Group-AFW merger remedy

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accepted in principle a remedy formally proposed by Wood Group regarding its merger with Amec Foster Wheeler.

The remedy consists of the majority of the majority of Amec Foster Wheeler’s UK upstream oil and gas business located in the UK and serving UK customers as outlined in the Wood Group prospectus and the Amec Foster Wheeler scheme document from May.

The CMA will now undertake a public consultation before issuing its final decision which is due by October 12, 2017, Wood Group said.

The M&A process for the remedy is already at an advanced stage, and Amec Foster Wheeler commenced a formal marketing process in May, which has attracted interest and is progressing well.

The CMA in its provisional decision does not require the two companies to complete the sale of the remedy business in advance of completing the merger.

As a result, Wood Group and Amec Foster Wheeler continue to expect the merger to complete in the fourth quarter of 2017.