Seadrill New Finance Limited (the "Issuer") - Update on Restructuring Discussions and SeaMex Ltd Joint Venture

HAMILTON, Bermuda, June 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Seadrill Limited ("Seadrill" or the "Company") (OSE: SDRL, OTCPK:SDRLF) and the Issuer announce that restructuring discussions have continued with certain holders (the "Noteholders") of the Issuer's 12.0% senior secured notes due 2025 (the "Notes") and good progress continues to be made. 

The restructuring discussions include SeaMex Ltd ("SeaMex"), a 50/50 joint venture which Seadrill established with an investment fund controlled by Fintech Holdings Limited ("Fintech") in 2014.

The Issuer has agreed in principle the key terms of a restructuring proposal in relation to SeaMex with a majority of the Noteholders and which provides for a refinancing of the secured bank debt of SeaMex. The key terms of this proposal include:

• materially deleveraging SeaMex's balance sheet by equitizing all or a significant proportion of the approximately $454 million of subordinated debt controlled by the Issuer; and
• injecting short-term liquidity into SeaMex in order to bridge towards a refinancing of SeaMex's senior bank debt as part of a comprehensive restructuring of SeaMex's balance sheet.

Seamexholding International, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Fintech) served a petition to place SeaMex under provisional liquidation in Bermuda. In the absence of a consensual agreement with Fintech on restructuring terms, the Issuer and a significant majority of the financial creditors of SeaMex are nominating their own provisional liquidators in order to be able to implement a creditor supported restructuring of SeaMex to maximise value for creditors and other stakeholders.  The need for the provisional liquidation and restructuring has arisen as a result of Petróleos Mexicanos ("Pemex") not having paid material receivables to SeaMex over a prolonged period of time as well as an objective to deleverage SeaMex's balance sheet.

The financial creditors of SeaMex remain fully supportive of SeaMex. Such a restructuring is only at the SeaMex holding company level and will not impact the operational activities of the business. There will similarly be no impact to employees, customers or suppliers.  Any use of a court supervised process in Bermuda will benefit from funding and result in an orderly restructuring of SeaMex's balance sheet for the benefit of all stakeholders, including employees, customers and suppliers.

About Seadrill

Seadrill is a leading offshore drilling contractor utilizing advanced technology to unlock oil and gas resources for clients across harsh and benign locations across the globe. Seadrill's high quality, technologically advanced fleet spans all asset classes allowing its experienced crews to conduct its operations from shallow to ultra-deep-water environments. The company operates 43 rigs, which includes drillships, jack-ups and semi-submersibles.

Seadrill is listed on the Oslo Børs and OTC Pink markets. For more information, visit https://www.seadrill.com/.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS 

This news release includes forward looking statements. Such statements are generally not historical in nature, and specifically include statements about the Company's plans, strategies, business prospects, changes and trends in its business, the markets in which it operates and its restructuring efforts. These statements are made based upon management's current plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events impacting the Company and therefore involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risks described from time to time in the Company's regulatory filings and periodical reporting. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of these factors. Further, the Company cannot assess the impact of each such factor on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward looking statement. 

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

CONTACT:

[email protected]  

020 3745 4960

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SOURCE Seadrill Limited