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DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Aiming to supplement its drilling fleet in the harsh arctic
environment, U.S. drilling giant Transocean Ltd (RIG) plans to
acquire Norwegian drilling rig operator Aker Drilling ASA (AKD.OS)
at a 62% premium to current valuation in a deal valued at $2.23
billion, Transocean said Monday.
Under the transaction, Transocean, which owned the rig at the
center of last year's catastrophic U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil spill,
has made a voluntary NOK26.50 ($4.83) per share cash offer for all
outstanding shares in the company.
Transocean said Aker Capital AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of
majority holder Aker ASA (AKER.OS), and other existing shareholders
of Aker Drilling representing 60.5% of the outstanding shares have
given their commitment to sell their shares to Transocean.
Transocean said the offer price represents a 62% premium to Aker
Drilling's 30-day average price of NOK16.39 per share. The
transaction will be funded using existing cash balances and debt
facilities. Transocean is also assuming $800 million in Aker
Drilling debt, lifting the total valuation of the deal to $2.23
billion.
Transocean said Aker Drilling would contribute about $1 billion
in contract backlog and the company said the deal is expected to be
"immediately accretive" its earnings. Aker operates two of the
world's largest and most sophisticated deepwater drilling units and
has two other ultra-deepwater drillships under construction in
South Korea.
Transocean's most recent earnings plummeted 78% following lower
utilization of its drilling fleet. The company continues to spar
with BP PLC (BP) in the aftermath of last spring's Deepwater
Horizon disaster which killed people and produced a massive oil
spill. The accident has spurred lawsuits.
Morgan Stanley and Fearnley Fonds/Fearnley Offshore are acting
as financial advisors to Transocean Services and Wikborg Rein is
acting as legal advisor to Transocean Services.
Shares in Aker Drilling Monday shot up 95% higher to NOK26.00
following news of the offer.
-By Katarina Gustafsson, Dow Jones Newswires +46-8-5451-3097;
katarina.gustafsson@dowjones.com
(Gustav Sandstrom contributed to this report)