British oilfield services company John Wood Group has agreed to buy Amec Foster Wheeler in a deal valuing its smaller rival at about 2.2 billion pounds (US$2.7 billion) and averting a planned 500 million pound rights issue. Companies in the industry have had to adjust to lower prices after oil tumbled from a peak of more than $100 a barrel in 2014. The paper deal valued Amec Foster Wheeler shares at 5.64 pence each and they traded close to that level at 1010 GMT. Wood Group shares also responded positively, gaining 5% to 7.93 pounds. Amec Foster Wheeler, itself the product of a 2014 merger, said it had been planning to announce a rights issue next week and to announce the suspension of dividend payments to cut costs and boost cashflow. The rights issue has been suspended.