Ensco to cut 79 Atwood jobs following acquisition

UK offshore driller Ensco has decided to cut 79 Atwood jobs after it successfully closed the acquisition of its U.S.-based rival.

According to a letter Ensco filed to the Texas Workforce Commission on October 5, the company said that it intended to conduct a mass layoff of most of the employees who currently work at Atwood Oceanics Houston headquarters.

In the letter, Ensco said that the 79 employees in question would be laid off between October 2017 and March 2018. The UK driller also added that it would be eventually closing down Atwood’s Houston HQ.

“To the extent the company is unable to provide 60 days of notice to such affected employees, the company will provide them with at least 60 days of full pay and benefits in lieu of such notice,” Ensco said.

It is also worth noting that, although it is based in the UK, Ensco also has offices in Houston located at the San Felipe Plaza.

The merger of the two companies was completed on October 6 with 65 percent of Ensco shareholders backing the deal, compared to Atwood’s 70 percent in favor of the transaction.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Atwood shareholders are entitled to receive 1.60 Ensco Class A ordinary shares for each share of Atwood common stock they own. As a result, Ensco and Atwood shareholders will own approximately 69% and 31%, respectively, of the outstanding shares of the combined company.

The expanded fleet of 37 jack-up rigs, including 27 premium units, now makes Ensco the largest jack-up operator in the world.

The estimated enterprise value of the combined company is $6.9 billion, based on the closing price of each company’s shares on May 26, 2017.

Offshore Energy Today Staff