Norway: NADL Raises USD 300 mln Through Private Placement

North Atlantic Drilling Ltd, a leading offshore harsh environment drilling company, 77 pct owned by Seadrill, has, via Private Placement, successfully placed 150,000,000 new ordinary shares at US$ 2.00 per share, raising gross proceeds of US$300 million.

The private placement was directed towards Norwegian and international investors, and the minimum order in the placement was set to the USD equivalent of EUR 50,000.

The gross proceeds of the Private Placement will be used to finance the first yard instalment for a harsh environment Semi-submersible newbuild, paydown on intra-company debt to Seadrill Limited and general corporate purposes.

Alf C Thorkildsen, Chief Executive Officer in North Atlantic Management AS and Chairman of North Atlantic Drilling Ltd. says in a comment, “North Atlantic Drilling was established in February last year with a clear ambition of building the leading harsh environment offshore drilling company. Since its incorporation, the underlying market for drilling services in such areas has shown a tremendous further development creating opportunities for additional growth. Adding a harsh environment semi-submersible newbuild, we are able to continue delivering our growth strategy and to utilize a unique opportunity to generate solid returns for our shareholders. We believe the market for modern advanced rigs will continue to develop favorably and offer attractive contracting opportunities. The strengthening of our capital base is supportive of such opportunities delivering further growth.”

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Offshore Energy Today Staff, March 28, 2012; Image: NADL