Wood Group CEO resigns ahead of Sidara takeover

(Sharecast News) - Wood Group has announced that its chief executive Ken Gilmartin is to resign from the engineering consulting firm ahead of the proposed £216m takeover by Dubai's Sidara. Gilmartin, who has been at the helm for three years, will step down after the upcoming shareholder vote on the deal, and will be replaced by Iain Torrens, currently interim chief financial officer.

Torrens only joined the company in February, but has over three decades of senior leadership experience across listed companies, including CFO at TalkTalk and ICAP.

"We are pleased to announce the appointment of Iain as Wood's new CEO," said chair Roy Franklin.

"Since joining the company earlier this year, Iain has demonstrated experience, leadership and decisiveness to guide the business through a very challenging period. The board is confident he is well-placed to lead the company into its next chapter."

Wood Group agreed to the Sidara acquisition in August after a year-long pursuit by the Dubai-based company. Sidara will pay 30p per share for the company, as well as take on $1.6bn of Wood Group's debt and inject $450m of capital into the business to help resolve liquidity issues.