HOUSTON, Dec. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Paragon Offshore plc ("Paragon") (NYSE: PGN) today announced that Paragon repurchased an aggregate principal amount of $25.2 million of its senior unsecured notes in December 2014 at an aggregate cost of $15.3 million including accrued interest. The repurchases consisted of $15.2 million of its 6.75 percent senior notes due 2022 and $10.0 million of its 7.25 percent senior notes due 2024.  Paragon repurchased the senior notes at an average purchase price of 60.6 percent of face value including accrued interest. These repurchases are in addition to previously announced repurchases which included an aggregate principal amount of $10 million purchased during the early fourth quarter of 2014. 

As a result of the repurchases, Paragon expects to recognize a gain on debt retirement in the fourth quarter of 2014, net of the write-off of issuance costs, of approximately $11.7 million, of which approximately $1.5 million is related to the previously announced repurchases and was previously disclosed.  The repurchases were made using available cash and borrowings under our credit facility.  Approximately $35 million remains of the original $100 million senior notes repurchase program authorized by Paragon's board of directors.

About Paragon Offshore

Paragon is a global provider of offshore drilling rigs.  Paragon's drilling fleet includes 34 jackups and eight floaters (five drillships and three semisubmersibles). In addition, Paragon is the majority shareholder of Prospector Offshore Drilling A.S., a publicly traded offshore drilling company on the Oslo Axess stock exchange that owns and operates two high specification jackups.  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 the timing and amount of cancellation of debt, any gains on the cancellation of debt, or additional debt repurchases, 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 Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on July 14, 2014, in Paragon's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 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.

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SOURCE Paragon Offshore plc