HOUSTON, Nov. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Paragon
Offshore plc ("Paragon") (NYSE: PGN) today reported that it has
acquired 52,749,014 shares of Prospector Offshore Drilling S.A., a
publicly traded offshore drilling company listed on Oslo
Axess ("Prospector") (OSE: PROS). Paragon acquired the
shares at a price of 14.50 Norwegian kroner (NOK) per share, or
$2.13 per share based on the exchange
rate of one United States dollar
to 6.80 NOK. Following this
transaction, Paragon owns a total of 52,749,014 shares of
Prospector, equal to 55.8 percent of the outstanding shares of
Prospector. Paragon intends to launch a mandatory tender offer for
the remaining outstanding shares of Prospector within four weeks as
mandated by applicable Luxembourg
and Norwegian law. In addition, Paragon will request the board of
directors of Prospector to convene a general meeting of the
Prospector shareholders to elect three new Paragon designated
directors to the Prospector board.
Prospector owns and operates two high specification Friede and
Goldman JU-2000E jackups contracted to Total S.A. for use in the
United Kingdom sector of the North
Sea. The first unit, Prospector 1, is contracted until
September 2016 at a dayrate of
$185,000 and the second unit,
Prospector 5, is contracted for three years following
contract commencement at a dayrate of $218,000. Combined, the contracts have
backlog of $384 million. Both
contracts contain customer options for an additional term (three
years and two years, respectively) at the same dayrates. Prospector
has three additional JU-2000E jackups under construction at the
Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) yard in China, the same yard that delivered
Prospector 5. These three units, Prospector 6,
Prospector 7 and Prospector 8, have published
delivery dates of December 2014,
September 2015 and March 2016. Prospector has the option to delay
the delivery of Prospector 6 by up to 4 months. The three
rigs are being constructed on a non-recourse basis with no parent
company guarantees. Each of the JU-2000E units are heavy-duty,
harsh environment jackups capable of operating in water depths up
to 400 feet, with derricks rated for static hook loads of 2,000,000
pounds, and maximum variable deck loads of 14,300,000 pounds.
"The acquisition of the majority of the outstanding shares of
Prospector Offshore is a significant step in Paragon's long-term
strategy to upgrade our fleet," said Randall D. Stilley, President and Chief
Executive Office of Paragon. "The inclusion of Prospector's
existing rigs into Paragon's fleet reduces our average rig age,
upgrades our technical capabilities, and adds backlog with a key
customer in an important operating region where Paragon already has
economies of scale. Furthermore, the rigs under construction
provide optionality for future growth. We look forward to
launching the tender for the remaining shares of Prospector as
quickly as possible."
Paragon's advisors on the transaction are Swedbank.
Conference Call
Paragon also scheduled a teleconference and webcast related to
its acquisition of shares in Prospector on Monday, November 17, 2014, at 10:30 a.m. U.S. Central Standard Time. The
teleconference can be accessed from the U.S. and Canada by dialling 1-855-307-2986, or
internationally by dialling 1-508-938-6940, and using access code:
34857448. Interested parties may also listen to the webcast through
a link posted on Paragon's website at www.paragonoffshore.com,
under "Events & Presentations" in the "Investor Relations"
section of the website.
A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available on
Monday, November 17, 2014, beginning
at approximately 3:00 p.m. U.S.
Central Standard Time, through Tuesday,
December 2, 2014, ending at approximately 11:00 p.m. U.S. Central Standard Time. The phone
number for the conference call replay is 1-855-859-2056 or, for
calls from outside of the U.S., 1-404-537-3406, using access code:
34857448. A replay of the conference call will also be
available on Paragon's website at www.paragonoffshore.com, under
"Events & Presentations" in the "Investor Relations" section of
the website.
About Paragon Offshore
Paragon is a global provider of standard specification offshore
drilling rigs. Paragon's drilling fleet consists of standard
specification rigs and includes 34 jackups and eight floaters (five
drillships and three semisubmersibles). Paragon's primary business
is contracting its rigs, related equipment and work crews to
conduct oil and gas drilling and workover operations for its
exploration and production customers on a dayrate basis around the
world. Paragon's principal executive offices are located in
Houston, Texas. Paragon is a
public limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 08814042 and
registered office at 20-22 Bedford
Row, London, WC1R 4JS,
England. Additional information is
available at www.paragonoffshore.com.
Forward-Looking Disclosure Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements. Statements
regarding statements related to the anticipated mandatory tender
offer, the time frame in which it is expected to occur, the
expected benefits of the proposed acquisition, the future financial
performance of the assets after the proposed acquisition, and the
contract backlog, revenue, condition or performance, contract
commitments, dayrates, contract commencements, contract extensions
or renewals of Prospector's fleet, as well as any other statements
that are not historical facts in this release, are forward-looking
statements that involve certain risks, uncertainties and
assumptions. These include but are not limited to risks associated
with the general nature of the oil and gas industry, risks
associated with the operation of Paragon as a separate, publicly
traded company, actions by regulatory authorities, customers and
other third parties, and other factors detailed in the "Risk
Factors" section of Paragon's registration statement on Form 10 as
filed with the SEC on July 14, 2014,
in Paragon's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter
ended September 30, 2014, and in
Paragon's other filings with the SEC, which are available free of
charge on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Should one or more of
these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying
assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially
from those indicated.
For additional information, contact:
For
Investors
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Lee M.
Ahlstrom
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&
Media:
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Senior Vice President
– Investor Relations, Strategy and Planning
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+1.832.783.4040
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-or-
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Henrik
Kulseng-Hanssen
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Corporate Finance -
Swedbank (advisor)
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+47 9201 6850
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SOURCE Paragon Offshore plc