Ocean Rig to meet with creditors over 3.7B debt restructuring

Heavily indebted offshore dilling company Ocean Rig, is set to convene meetings with creditors hoping they’d approve the previously announced schemes to restructure the driller’s debt.

According to the driller, the Grand Court of the Cayman has directed that four separate meetings be convened with creditors of Ocean Rig’s subsidiaries Drillships Financing Holding Inc. (“DFH”), Ocean Rig UDW Inc. (“UDW”), Drill Rigs Holdings Inc. (“DRH”) and Drillships Ocean Ventures Inc. (“DOV”) to consider, and potentially approve a previously launched scheme of arrangement aimed at resolving Ocean Rig’s debt woes.

If the schemes are sanctioned, Ocean Rig said its subsidiaries – the scheme companies – which are now in provisional liquidation will be substantially deleveraged through an exchange of approximately $3.7 billion principal amount of debt for  new equity of the Company,  approximately $288 million of cash, and $450 million of new secured debt.

The meetings will be held at the offices of Maples and Calder, Ugland House, South Church Street, George Town, Cayman Islands on August 11, 2017.

If approved at the scheme meetings, the schemes of arrangement will be subject to subsequent applications seeking the sanction of the Court, which will be heard at 10 a.m. (Cayman Islands time) on September 4, 2017.

George Economou, Chairman & CEO commented: “It has taken a lot of hard work to get to this stage and we thank the various stakeholders involved. We are confident that the creditors will support the Schemes and we look forward to moving forward with the restructuring.”