Drillship owner Seadrill cleared to steer out of bankruptcy
17:06, 27 October 2021
Offshore drilling contractor Seadrill Limited aims to leave US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection within 60 days.
A US Bankruptcy Court confirmed Tuesday a reorganisation plan that transfers majority ownership of the Bermuda-based company to lenders, raises $350m of new finances and lowers debt by more than $4.9bn.
According to the disclosure statement that explains the plan to lenders and other stakeholders, senior lenders will exchange $5.6bn of debt for a new $750m debt takeback facility and 83% of the equity in the new company. An additional 16.75% of equity will be available to certain lenders who participate in a rights offering.
Existing shareholders will see their holding in the post emergence entity decrease to 0.25%.
Seadrill Limited filed for bankruptcy on 7 February 2021 in Houston, Texas.
The company is the parent of Seadrill, which emerged from bankruptcy itself in 2018. At that time, the oil and natural gas markets were in a sustained downturn which was further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and OPEC-Russia price war.
Financials
Seadrill Limited is one of the world’s largest offshore drilling contractors and owns and/or operates 39 rigs, which includes drillships, jack-ups and semi-submersibles.
The company reported operating revenue of $452m for the first six months of 2021, down 2% year over year. The net loss narrowed to $605m from $2.9bn.
Total backlog was $2.1bn.
Shares trade on the Oslo Børs under the symbol “SDRL” and on the US over-the-counter markets under the symbol “SDRLF”.
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