A year after Wood announced its plans to sell its controlling stake in Aberdeen-based Ethos Energy, it has found a buyer in the form of a US private equity firm.
The Aberdeen energy services firm agreed on the deal with One Equity Partners (OEP) for a final net cash consideration of $138 million, with $42 million of prior planned loan notes replaced by an additional cash consideration at completion.
An agreement with Ethos parent companies Wood and Siemens Energy AG was reached to sell the complete business to OEP in August and the deal was completed on the last day of 2024.
An OEP spokesperson told Energy Voice that it plans to “accelerate the company’s growth” and that strategy includes merger and acquisition deals.
The private equity firm added that there are no plans to move Ethos Energy’s location and declined to comment on potential job creation or lay offs as a result of its takeover.
Ethos Energy contributed $34 million of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to Wood’s 2023 full year results.
Wood overall reported $423m in adjusted EBITDA in its books for 2023 which were published in March.
This comes as Wood looks to sell off parts of its business and write down contracts to drive profitability.
CEO Ken Gilmartin commented: “This strategic divestment is part of our strategy to be selective and focused on our core business.
“We will continue to align our portfolio as part of our commitment to simplify Wood.”
The firm first announced ambitions to offload its 51% stake in Ethos Energy in January 2024.
In 2014, Wood set up Ethos Energy in a joint venture with Germany’s Siemens AG, to create what was reported as a “gas turbines giant”.
Now the firm employs around 3,600 globally, a slight drop off from the 4,000 employees reported last year.
The firm has bases in Aberdeen and Houston while OEP operates in New York, Chicago, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam.
Wood confirmed in October that it had commissioned auditor Deloitte to conduct an independent review to determine if the firm needs to restate accounts from prior years.
The review will focus on “reported positions on contracts in projects, accounting, governance and controls” related to a series of “exceptional contract write-offs” the firm announced in its half year in which it unveiled a massive near-$1 billion loss.
“Ethos Energy is uniquely positioned to meet the growing maintenance needs of an ageing turbine fleet,” said Ante Kusurin, partner at OEP.
Ethos Energy CEO Ana Amicarella shared that she believes the firm has “the right partner” as it pursues growth in a market that Kusurin described as having “strong secular tailwinds.”
Amicarella added: “OEP’s longstanding, deep industrial sector expertise will support EthosEnergy as we serve growing needs in a critical industry.”
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