Borr Drilling shares jump after deal with lenders, shipyards

Borr Drilling

05/06/2020 11:17

OSLO, June 5 (Reuters) - Offshore driller Borr Drilling
 BDRILL.OL  shares jumped more than 28% on Friday after the
company agreed with its lenders and shipyards on a debt
restructuring to boost its liquidity.
    The deal, which includes postponing delivery of five newly
built drilling rigs until mid-2022 along with certain interest
payments, would improve liquidity by more than $315 million
until the first quarter of 2022. 
    "We are also encouraged by the already improving
supply-demand outlook for oil, and optimistic that this will
lead to a gradual improvement in jack-up drilling activity in
the coming year," Borr's Chairman Paal Kibsgaard said in a
statement.
    Brent crude futures  LCOc1  have risen about 14% this week
to above $40 a barrel amid signs of improving fuel demand as
countries begin to ease lockdowns they had imposed to prevent
the spread of the new coronavirus. O/R 
    As part of its debt restructuring deal, Borr Drilling also
raised $30 million by issuing 46.2 million of new shares at a
subscription price of $0.65 per share via private placement.
    Orbis Allan Gray, an investment firm founded by the late
South African billionaire Alan Gray, has acquired 9.96 million
new shares, boosting its stake to 13.1% from 9.6%, the company's
filing to the stock exchange showed. 
    As of May 20, more than half of Borr's 26 jack-up rigs,
excluding five newbuilds, were idle. It sold two rigs in April
for $15.8 million and said it might sell more in the future.
    Borr's Oslo-listed shares were trading at 7.77 Norwegian
crowns ($0.84) by 0929 GMT.
    
    ($1 = 9.2877 Norwegian crowns)

 (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
 ((nerijus.adomaitis@thomsonreuters.com; +47 9027 6699; Reuters
Messaging: nerijus.adomaitis.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))