As Paratus closes its jack-up shop, Borr Drilling’s Mexican JV welcoming five rigs

March 24, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Fontis Finance, an indirect subsidiary of Bermuda-headquartered Paratus Energy Services, is offloading its drilling operations and jack-up fleet to Proyectos Globales de Energía y Servicios CME (CME) and BC Ventures, a newly established 50/50 joint venture between subsidiaries of Bermuda-based Borr Drilling and CME as its long-term well construction partner in Mexico.

A jack-up rig — Courageous jack-up rig; Source: Fontis Energy

Paratus Energy Services, which revealed the sale of its jack-up business, explains that the divestment is structured through two inter-conditional transactions, whereby Proyectos Globales de Energía y Servicios CME will acquire the Fontis Mexican operations for cash consideration, while CME and Borr, through a jointly owned acquisition vehicle, will acquire Fontis’ Singaporean rig owning entities for a combination of cash and seller’s credit.

After Paratus become the owner of Fontis in 2022 and up until closing of the transaction, the ompany will have overseen the distribution of approximately $760 million of asset value from its subsidiary to stakeholders, of which $219 million was distributed to creditors in 2022 and 2023, and approximately $541 million will have been distributed to the firm itself, including the consideration to be received under the divestment.

Robert Jensen, CEO of Paratus, commented: “Today’s announcement marks a significant milestone in Paratus’ strategic evolution. Since 2022, we have successfully transformed Fontis into a strong, debt-free platform and crystallized more than $760 million for our stakeholders.

“With this transaction, we take a decisive step toward becoming a leading pure-play PLSV company of scale. Supported by a fully contracted fleet, strong cash flow visibility and a flexible balance sheet, we are well positioned to deliver sustainable shareholder distributions while actively pursuing attractive growth opportunities.”

Paratus has overseen Fontis’ separation from Seadrill, organizational build-up, full repayment of external financial debt, and significant progress on collecting outstanding receivables. Building on this progress, the firm believes these assets would benefit from being part of a larger jack-up industry platform to compete more effectively.

As a result, the company is convinced that Borr and CME represent a strong industrial home for the assets being sold, with an established presence in Mexico and international access. The divestment of Fontis represents another step for Paratus towards enhanced strategic and financial flexibility, in continuation of the company’s divestment of its holdings in Archer during Q3 2025.

Paratus rig duo’s drilling contracts cut short

Vessels

Mei Mei Chow, Chairperson of Paratus, remarked: “This transaction reflects the continued delivery on the strategic direction set at the outset of the formation of Paratus in 2022, to create and deliver positive returns to our shareholder.

“With two successful divestments completed, the company has taken important steps toward becoming a simpler, more focused business with a stronger financial foundation. The board is very pleased with the progress achieved and will continue to steer the company in building and realising value for shareholders.”

The transaction is expected to significantly improve the operational risk profile by reducing exposure to payment irregularities, potential contract suspensions, and re-contracting uncertainty in Mexico. While portraying itself as the world’s only pure play PLSV business of scale, the firm underlines that it will at closing be backed by a fully contracted fleet, which today has multi-year contracts in a resilient and infrastructure-linked segment, providing enhanced long-term earnings visibility.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including requisite consent from its 2029 bondholders and competition clearance in Mexico. Subject to timely satisfaction of the conditions, closing is expected to be completed during H2 2026. The deal is subject to a long stop date of six months from the date of signing, which is extendable by up to 60 days in increments of 30 days, subject to certain terms and conditions.

Thanks to this acquisition, Borr Drilling’s joint venture will acquire the rig-owning entities, which own two Friede & Goldman JU-2000E design rigs and three LeTourneau Super 116-C design rigs. These five rigs are currently located in Mexico. The transaction is expected to be financed through a $237 million non-recourse seller’s credit, in addition to a cash contribution of $25 million from the offshore drilling player and its local partner at closing.

The seller’s credit will have a 2.5-year maturity from the date of closing and will be secured by, among other things, a first lien on the five jack-up rigs. The transaction is expected to close within Q3 2026, subject to customary closing conditions, including merger control approvals.

Bruno Morand, Borr Drilling’s CEO, underlined: “We are pleased to execute this acquisition alongside our longstanding partner. Together, we have built a strong brand with a proven operational track record in Mexico. These rigs are being acquired at an attractive valuation and at a lower debt per rig and cash breakeven level than our existing fleet.

“We continue to see shallow-water rigs as strategically important for our customers, particularly at a time when security of energy supply and reliability of execution are of heightened importance. In the current environment, we expect demand for jack-up rigs to increase, and the acquisition of these units positions us well to capture future opportunities in Mexico and globally.”

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