Transocean to Buy Drilling Firm -- WSJ
2018年9月5日 - 4:02PM
Dow Jones News
By Costas Paris and Kimberly Chin
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (September 5, 2018).
Transocean Ltd. has agreed to buy fellow offshore-drilling
contractor Ocean Rig UDW Inc., in a cash-and-stock transaction
valued at roughly $2.7 billion and aimed at strengthening the
company's drillship fleet ahead of an expected market recovery.
Switzerland-based Transocean -- among the world's five biggest
offshore operators, with revenue of $7.4 billion last year -- will
give Ocean Rig shareholders 1.6128 newly issued shares in the
combined business plus $12.75 in cash per share of Ocean Rig's
common stock.
The agreement would value Ocean Rig's shares at $32.28 apiece,
representing a 20% premium over the 10-day volume-weighted average
share price of the drilling contractor as of Aug. 31.
Transocean's shareholders would own about 79% of the combined
company, while Ocean Rig's would own about 21%. No changes to the
board of directors, executive management or corporate structure are
expected.
Transocean intends to finance the deal through a combination of
cash and fully committed financing from Citigroup Inc.
Offshore drilling has been one of the hardest-hit sectors in the
shipping industry's downcycle over the past four years. Rig daily
leases, which once commanded as much as $800,000, dropped to about
$200,000 over the period as cheap oil from U.S. shale drilling
flooded the market, hitting finances at the field's biggest
competitors.
Ocean Rig completed a restructuring last October that wiped out
$3.7 billion in debt and handed control of the company's equity to
investors in its senior debt, among them Avenue Capital Management
II LP, BlueMountain Capital Management LLC and Elliott Associates
LP.
Another major operator, Seadrill Ltd., filed for chapter 11
bankruptcy protection last year and emerged from bankruptcy in
April.
"The Transocean takeover shows that rig operators are betting on
sustained higher oil prices going forward," said Peter Sand, chief
shipping analyst at Bimco, an industry research group. "They have
also made a serious effort to cut their costs, which could make
offshore drilling attractive once again."
Transocean Chief Executive Jeremy Thigpen said the takeover will
strengthen the company's presence in key markets such as Brazil,
West Africa and Norway ahead of what "we believe is an imminent
recovery in the ultra-deepwater market."
The deal will add nine drillships and two harsh-environment
semisubmersibles to the Transocean fleet. Ocean Rig also has two
drillships under construction and due for delivery by 2020.
Altogether, the deal would boost Transocean's fleet to 57.
Ocean Rig is the Swiss company's second big acquisition in less
than a year, after a $1.2 billion takeover of Songa Offshore
completed in January.
The deal is subject to shareholders' approval. The companies
said in a written statement that shareholders representing 48% of
Ocean Rig's shares outstanding support the deal, as does
Transocean's third-largest shareholder.
Write to Costas Paris at costas.paris@wsj.com and Kimberly Chin
at kimberly.chin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 05, 2018 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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