Seadrill raises more than US$1b in new capital

TEXAS: Seadrill Ltd filed for bankruptcy protection after working out a deal with almost all its senior lenders to inject more than US$1 billion (RM4.19 billion) of new money into the company.

Under the proposal, lenders will extend the maturity on US$5.7 billion in debt, with no amortisation payments due until 2020.

Should lower-ranking creditors join the proposal, US$2.3 billion in unsecured bonds would be converted into a 15 per cent stake in the company, said Seadrill.

“The restructuring agreement we signed yesterday was a comprehensive plan that raises more than US$1 billion of new capital,” said Seadrill Management Ltd chief executive officer Anton Dibowitz.

The new capital “was underpinned” by Hemen Holding Ltd, the company’s largest shareholder, said Dibowitz.

More than 40 per cent of bondholders support the plan along with 97 per cent of Seadrill’s secured bank lenders, he said.

The US$1 billion investment will comprise of US$860 million in secured notes and US$200 million in equity, said the company.

The company’s Chapter 11 petition said yesterday that Seadrill had struck two deals to help it reorganise under court protection: a restructuring support and an investment pact.

The firm must get court permission to sign the lender proposal, which will then be incorporated into a reorganisation plan that will go to creditors for a vote. The judge will take that vote into consideration before deciding whether to approve the plan. Bloomberg