Gulf Oil Rig Operator to Sell Assets to Rival

Gulf of Mexico No Comments

By DANIEL GILBERT And STEPHEN POWER

HOUSTON—Seahawk Drilling Inc., one of the largest operators of shallow-water rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, on Friday said it would seek bankruptcy protection and sell its assets to a competitor, blaming the Obama administration for a crippling regulatory environment in the aftermath of the BP PLC oil spill.

Seahawk’s assets will be acquired by Hercules Offshore Inc., in a cash and stock deal worth about 0 million. The cash component will be million but could be upped another million if needed to pay Seahawk’s debt. Hercules will also provide the seller 22.3 million shares of common stock, valued at .36 per share. The number of shares would be reduced, however, if more cash is required.

The deal is subject to bankruptcy court approval.

On Friday, Mr. Stilley, in a statement, blamed the recent slowdown in Gulf drilling for a blow that caused the company to pursue Chapter 11 protection.

Seahawk was “forced to seek strategic alternatives only after an unprecedented decline in the issuance of offshore drilling permits following the Macondo blowout,” Mr. Stilley said, referring to the BP well that blew out on April 20, killing 11 workers and triggering the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy court, bankruptcy protection, bp plc, cash component, common stock, court approval, daniel gilbert, gulf of mexico, gulf oil, macondo, offshore drilling, offshore inc, offshore oil, oil rig, oil spill, regulatory environment, seahawk, shallow water, stock deal worth, unprecedented decline

It is increasingly likely that GM won’t be able to restructure adequately, and will be forced into bankruptcy. They are making deals with unions and the government, and handing out ownership stakes with (I think) preferred shares. However, there are also millions of common stock shares out there (currently valued around ). Won’t those shares go to {content}.00 if the company enters chapter 11 protection?

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy, chapter 11, common stock, gm, ownership stakes, preferred shares, stock shares, unions