Norwegian offshore drilling contractor Borr Drilling, formerly known as Magni Drilling, has resolved to apply for a listing of its shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange (Oslo Børs) in the second half of August 2017.
In a statement on Friday, August 4 the driller said the target for the listing is to increase public awareness of the company, improve the liquidity in the trading of the shares, and prepare the company for further growth through asset acquisitions and M&A transactions.
The company’s current jack-up fleet is made up from two jack-ups bought from a bankrupt U.S. driller, Hercules Offshore , and 15 jack-ups acquired from the Swiss-based Transocean . Hercules sold the jack-up pair for $130 million and Transocean sold 15 jack-up drilling rigs, including five under construction at a Keppel shipyard, for $1.35 billion.
Borr also said on Friday that the first day of trading of the shares on Oslo Børs will be following the receipt of relevant approvals from Oslo Børs and approval of a prospectus by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority.
The driller expects to complete the process well within the third quarter of 2017. In connection with the listing process, the company will call for an extraordinary AGM to get approval for updating the bylaws.
DNB Markets, a part of DNB Bank, is acting as financial advisor to the company.
Borr Chief Financial Officer Rune, Magnus Lundetrae , told Reuters the company plans to list 315 million shares which on Friday were valued at around 9.2 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.16 billion).
Offshore Energy Today Staff