Offshore driller Ocean Rig has set a date for its shareholders to vote on a proposal to merge with Transocean.
Ocean Rig on Tuesday said its shareholders would vote on the previously announced plan of merger with Transocean at a special meeting scheduled to be held on Thursday, November 29, 2018.
The meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m. local time, at Ocean Rig’s offices located at 3rd Floor Flagship Building, Harbour Drive, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
“Formal notice of the Special Meeting and the Company’s and Transocean’s joint proxy statement/prospectus are expected to be sent to shareholders on or as soon as practicable after October 16, 2018,” Ocean Rig said on Tuesday.
As previously reported, Transocean and Ocean Rig in September entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Transocean would acquire Ocean Rig in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $2.7 billion, inclusive of Ocean Rig’s net debt.
Related: Transocean moves to buy Ocean Rig for $2.7 billion
Ocean Rig’s fleet is comprised of nine high-specification ultra-deepwater drillships and two harsh environment semi-submersibles, Eirik Raude and Leiv Eiriksson.
Additionally, its fleet includes two high-specification ultra-deepwater drillships currently under construction at Samsung Heavy Industries with favorable shipyard financing terms. These two newbuilds are expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2020, respectively.
“The proposed acquisition of Ocean Rig provides us with a unique opportunity to continue enhancing our fleet of ultra-deepwater and harsh environment floaters, without compromising our liquidity or overall balance sheet flexibility,” said Transocean’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeremy Thigpen, said in September
Subject to a favorable shareholder vote, Transocean’s fleet will be comprised of 57 floating rigs after the acquisition.