Amec welcomes rescinded offer.

THE board of Cheshire project management firm Amec yesterday said it welcomes the announcement by Texas Pacific Group and First Reserve Corporation that they do not intend to make an offer for the company.

The private equity bidders abandoned their pounds 1.5bn bid plans for Amec after the firm refused to open up its books.

Texas Pacific and First Reserve said in a joint statement: "The consortium now confirms that, in light of the board's refusal to provide due diligence access, it will not be making an offer for Amec at this time."

Amec said: "The board remains focused on the implementation of the strategy announced by chief executive Samir Brikho and delivering value to its shareholders."

In August, Amec said it had taken steps to revive its construction arm following half-year losses of more than pounds 20m at the division.

Earlier this year, the group announced the sale of Amec SPIE - a specialist provider of services in the energy and rail industries - as part of a major restructuring, which will see it separate its core energy and process management operations from its construction activities.