Shareholders Say “Yes” To Transocean – Ocean Rig Merger

The Offshore Drilling Companies Transocean and Ocean Rig Announced That Their Respective Shareholders Voted in Favor of the Proposal Previously Proposed by Transocean for the Acquisition of Ocean Rig, with the Deal Valued at US$ 2.7 Billion

In September, the two drillers entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Transocean would acquire Ocean Rig in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at approximately US$ 2.7 billion, including Ocean Rig’s net debt, subject to the approval of Transocean and Ocean Rig’s shareholders and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals.

Commenting on the approval, Jeremy Thigpen, President and CEO of Transocean, said: “We are extremely pleased that our shareholders overwhelmingly approved our acquisition of Ocean Rig. Through this combination, Transocean further enhances our leading industry floaters fleet, thus improving our competitive position.

“We are excited to actively market these assets in the growing list of opportunities that we continue to emerge across our global customer base.”

Thigpen concluded: “We look forward to closing the transaction in the coming days and welcoming the experienced crew of Ocean Rig to the company.”

In a separate statement, Ocean Rig, a specialist in deepwater drilling, said that holders of 86.76% of Ocean Rig’s outstanding shares voted, of which 99.99% approved the merger.

Ocean Rig reported that, upon the effective date of the merger, each issued and outstanding share of Ocean Rig immediately before that date will be canceled and automatically converted into the right to receive 1.6128 newly issued shares of Transocean and US$ 12.75 in cash. Transocean as the combined entity will remain listed on the NYSE under the symbol “RIG”.

Ocean Rig’s fleet consists of nine high-specification ultra-deepwater drillships and two harsh environment semi-submersibles, Eirik Raude and Leiv Eiriksson.

In addition, its fleet includes two high-specification ultra-deepwater drilling units currently under construction at Samsung Heavy Industries. These two new builds are expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2020, respectively.