More bondholders support Seadrill’s restructuring

Offshore driller Seadrill has managed to reach a global settlement with an ad hoc group of bondholders, the official committee of unsecured creditors, and other major creditors in its chapter 11 cases.

According to Seadrill, some 70% of the company’s bondholders by principal amount have now signed an agreement to support Seadrill’s restructuring. To remind, the company in September had support of 40 percent of bondholders.

Approximately 99% of the Company’s bank lenders by principal amount had previously signed and remain party to the agreement, Seadrill said on Monday.

Commenting today, Anton Dibowitz, CEO and President of Seadrill Management Ltd., said: “The settlement is a pivotal moment in our efforts to implement a broadly-consensual comprehensive restructuring plan. We now have virtually all of our bank lenders, a supermajority of our bonds, the official creditors’ committee, newbuild contract counterparties, and our largest shareholder supporting our restructuring. We look forward to the successful implementation of the transaction in the near future.”

Revised plan

The settlement adds additional bondholders as commitment parties to the Company’s approximately $1 billion new capital raise and also significantly increases proposed distributions to general unsecured creditors under the plan, Seadrill said.

The settlement also includes an agreement regarding the amount and treatment of the claims of Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd., two shipyards that are party to newbuild contracts with the company.

“To effectuate the settlement, the Company executed amendments to its restructuring support agreement and investment agreement, which are included in a Form 6K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 26, 2018. After executing the amendments, the Company filed a revised plan of reorganization and disclosure statement with the court overseeing its chapter 11 cases in the Southern District of Texas,” Seadrill added.