Noble Corp. preparing to emerge from bankruptcy

Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation is preparing to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a temporary name change to allow continued use of its name upon emergence.

Noble Corp. said last Friday it had changed its name to Noble Holding Corporation plc to allow the ultimate parent company that emerges from Chapter 11 reorganization to use the name “Noble Corporation plc.”

The temporary name change relating to the ultimate parent entity will not affect current shareholders, and no action by shareholders is required, the drilling contractor explained.

The company’s trading symbol did not change.

Robert W. Eifler, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated, “As we prepare to emerge from bankruptcy, we are committed to continuing to operate as normal and without interruption. This name change allows us to continue using the Noble Corporation plc name going forward, which is integral to maintaining our brand recognition, industry reputation, and stakeholder relationships.

“We remain committed to the industry-leading operational excellence that defines Noble, and we look forward to emerging as a stronger company”.

Noble Corp. is currently under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which was filed back in early August 2020.

The process is meant to significantly deleverage the company’s balance sheet and position it for long term growth.

Following the restructuring, the company expects to emerge with an enhanced liquidity position supported by a new $675 million secured revolving credit facility to be provided by its current syndicate of revolving credit facility lenders.

Noble previously said it expects to emerge from Chapter 11 before year-end.

In related news, Noble Corp. last week revealed it had decided to sell five of its cold-stacked floating drilling rigs.

The deals were signed for two drillships and three semi-submersibles. Both drillships were built in 2011, two semi-subs were built in 1999, and the third one in 1980.

Noble also said last week it had reduced its quarterly loss to $51 million in 3Q 2020 from a loss of $445 million in 3Q 2019.

In 3Q 2020, the company recorded revenues of $242 million, which is a decrease compared to revenues of $276 million in the same period last year.