Jack-up pair passes into ADES’ possession but remains part of Vantage Drilling’s managed rig fleet

September 9, 2024, by Melisa Cavcic

Vantage Holdings International, a subsidiary of Vantage Drilling International, has embarked on a process to divest two jack-up rigs, which will get ADES Holding Company, part of Saudi Arabia-headquartered oil and gas drilling services provider ADES Group, as their new owner. However, Vantage will continue to manage the rigs for three years.

Topaz Driller jack-up rig; Source: Vantage

ADES has expanded its presence in Southeast Asia with the acquisition of two contracted premium jack-up rigs from Vantage Drilling, thanks to a share purchase agreement (SPA) the duo inked for the former to get its hands on all of the issued and outstanding equity of the latter’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Rig Finance (RFL), the owner of the 2009-built Soehanah 375-foot jack-up rig.

Vantage’s indirectly-held subsidiary, P2021 Rig Co. also entered into an asset purchase agreement (APA) with ADES, under which the 2007-built Topaz Driller 375-foot jack-up rig will be sold. The disposal of both rigs comes with an aggregate purchase price of $190 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments.

Ihab Toma, Vantage’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are very pleased to continue to expand our global strategic alliance agreement with ADES, leveraging our history of collaboration in Egypt and Qatar, by selling our two premium jack-up rigs in Southeast Asia and entering into a management services agreement for each rig for three years. The transaction will expand our management services platform, further strengthen our balance sheet and will provide Vantage with important financial flexibility.”

Furthermore, the subsidiaries of Vantage and ADES will enter into a management agreement for these rigs upon the completion of the sale, enabling the former subsidiaries to provide management services to the two rigs for three years. While each deal is subject to customary closing conditions, the closing under the SPA and the APA will occur as soon as all conditions are met or waived.

Toma highlighted: “The sale of this business does not end our involvement in operating these jack-up rigs as we will continue to manage the operations of the two rigs for three years. ADES continues to demonstrate confidence in the Vantage management platform as ADES continues its international expansion.”

The sale of the jack-up duo to ADES comes months after Vantage made arrangements with TotalEnergies to offload a drillship, which was working in Namibia for the French oil major.